Reciprocity of Ratiocination
by PiningForPorn
Summary: Tagline: Having reasons behind the decisions we make in life is part of being human. Summary: Bishop forces Aidan to choose between his maker and his best friend by locking Aidan in with Josh during a full moon.
1. RoRChapter00

Reciprocity of Ratiocination.

Written by Pining for Porn.

Chapter 0: Me Babble Long Time.

I do not own Being Human or its characters, I just surreptitiously borrowed a copy of them for a little bit of naughty (but ultimately unlucrative) fun! All I've got to my name is some two dollar bling from Wal*Mart and an outdated computer with a torturously slow processor. Trust me, pursuing me for infringement restitution is so NOT WORTH IT!

Dialogue lifted directly from the show belongs to the show, not to me.

Spoilers: All of Season One.

Tagline: Having reasons behind the decisions we make in life is part of being human.

Summary: Bishop forces Aidan to choose between his maker and his best friend by locking Aidan in with Josh during a full moon.

Pairings: Aidan/Josh, and any/all cannon pairings.

Author's Notes: I am going to categorize this fic as an Alternate Universe, because it is slightly out of alignment with the first season, (I added another full moon between the fight with Douglas and Nora's ultrasound.) and since the story was conceived and plotted in its entirety before the start of US Season 2, there is no way it will line up with the second season of the show! This is my very first (and likely only!) fan fiction. I love the fandom, but after only one season, I felt it could use some more good, lengthy stories archived for it. So I decided to write the story I most wanted to read. And though I would put it down for long periods of time, either too busy or distracted or depressed to actively work on it, I would think of it every day, and decided at the very least, it deserved to be finished.

Characters and their motivations fascinate me. What are the thoughts and factors that contribute to a major life decision? What information is given weight? Feelings? Fears? Dreams? Past experiences? What is it really like to see the world through someone else's eyes?

Warning:

This story contains a same sex pairing: If you don't like THAT, then don't read THIS! No whining!

Way More Serious Warning:

This story contains several brief flashbacks and references to heterosexual parings. I'm so very sorry about that… even I am appalled! But, boys will be boys!

More Miscellaneous Warnings:

Adult Situations, Adult Language, Internal Dialogue (Not joking!), Graphic Depictions of Sex, Vampirism, Werewolfism, Zoophilia (don't worry about that one... it's just Josh), very brief mention of Necrophilia (Rebecca, totally cannon, not as scary as it sounds!) Fragmentary Sentences (Deal with it!), Run-on Sentences (Double deal with it!), Angst, Stress, Resentment, Difficult Questions, Awkward Moments, Aidan-whompage, I'm pretty sure I've dangled a couple of prepositions, and I have Been Told I Have a Weird Sense of Humor.

**You Cannot Say You Were Not Warned!**

No offense meant to Taylor Swift, Pizza Hut, Iron Chef, 3M, Texas Instruments, Jethro Tull, The Bloodhound Gang, chicks named Tammi, Peanuts (Charles Shultz, RIP!), the Muppet Grover (along with his wonderfully memorable book), the fine cities of Boston and Ithaca, and all of their affiliates!

A sincere and heartfelt _Thank You_ goes to B Logan, who agreed to be the first to be subjected to this story, and appeared not to regret it.

A big thank you to Nextup and the great people at Text Aloud, who have made it possible for me to listen to my favorite pornographic fan fiction at work. Cheers!

And finally, a Thank You goes to King J: Who mentioned it, at Lestat's place.

Updated on to 3-13-13 correct spelling and formatting.

Although I know I gave zero incentive to review by posting the entire story at once, _thank you so much_ to those who left me a review anyway. You made my day! For those of you who didn't: Nine thousand hits in two months? Yeah, I know you're reading it! lol

**Comments ARE welcome and appreciated!**

**Enjoy! =)**


	2. RoRChapter01

"I hope this helps to emphasize…  
I hope this helps to clarify…  
I hope you die!"  
– I Hope You Die, Hooray for Boobies. The Bloodhound Gang

Reciprocity of Ratiocination.

Chapter 1: You all saw THIS coming. It was in the SUMMARY!

It was a full moon day, and that meant an early shift for Josh at good ol' Suffolk County Hospital. Last month he thought he would try a daylight barbeque with Nora on the day of the full moon, but got kidnapped by vampires instead. Nora was ticked. Josh was also less than thrilled. He hoped never to repeat that experience. Josh had been forced to kill a man who had been another werewolf, a kindly older man named Douglas.

Things had truly hit the fan in the vampire world. Well, here in Boston, anyway. Bishop had decided he wanted the whole world, not just supernatural Bostonians, and dusted some Dutch to prove it. He didn't get all of the elders, one made it out to rally the other families against the Boston vampire lair: the Sapp and Sons funeral home. All the vampires in Boston had been wiped out save Aidan, who helped the last Dutchman to escape, and Bishop, who was on the run. If there were any others, they were either lying low; or in the process of high tailing it.

Aidan was sticking close to Josh today. The Dutch had done their part so far, and being over a thousand years old they were not overly anxious about finishing off Boston's deposed leader. Aidan knew the future of Boston would be decided between him and Bishop. Right now it was a waiting game... And it was Bishop's move.

The tranquillizer darts came from behind them, from the van that neatly pulled up, and scooped them inside. Both Aidan and Josh were tasered for good measure. Quick and clean: Bishop's specialty.

When Josh awoke, his first sensation was a curious coolness settling on his skin. He was feeling air on far too much of his body. He opened his eyes. For the second month in a row, he was greeted with bars. Looking down at himself, he confirmed that he was lying on a smooth concrete floor, naked. He was on his side, in what they call the recovery position in CPR class. He closed his eyes again, running an internal check of his body. His countdown clock was running. He didn't sleep through his transformation. It was still coming, only now it was sooner. Without moving, Josh looked around the room. It was a different cage this time. This one had thicker bars set wider apart, with a crossbar set in the middle. At the bottom of the cage, he could see where bolts had been cemented into the ground, and welded to hold the cage in place. There was soft blue electric light coming down on Josh from above, and beyond the bars, the light looked faded and shadowy. He could make out the walls, metal with a repetitive pattern of rectangles and small circles: Safety deposit boxes. He was in a converted bank vault. Cautiously, he sniffed the air, scenting for another werewolf, or some other clue as to why he was here. Humans had been here, recently. But the strongest scent... his heart skipped a beat, and then beat faster. Josh rolled his chest to the ground, picking up his head to look behind him. There was Aidan, naked, sitting a few feet away from him, one leg curled in front of him, the other leg bent, foot flat on the floor.

Aidan's voice was soft. "Hey, Josh. How're you feelin'?"

Josh sat up slowly. His fingers sought out the sore spots. There were taser burns about three inches back from his left ear, hidden in his hair. They were already healing. The tranquilizer dart had also hit him on his left side, on his back just under the rib cage. The puncture wound on his back had healed, but the needle left the muscles there sore.

"I think I'm okay. How are you?"

Aidan nodded a little. "I'm alright." He rested his head on his knee, subdued.

"Has anyone been in?"

The vampire shook his head.

"What's going on? Why are we here?"

Aidan regarded his friend. His expression was somber. "Looks like Bishop is going to have you kill me."

Josh took another cursory glance around the room. There was a circle of five small video cameras surrounding the cage, mounted high on the walls and pointed straight at them. Red LEDs glowed to show they were activated. They were being watched at that very moment; no doubt.

Echoed footsteps floated through the air: men's dress shoes on marble. Their host was coming. Speak of the devil and the devil appears. Josh assumed a pose similar to his friend's, draping his arm down to grasp his front ankle for good measure. He really didn't want to be naked in front of Bishop, (again!) but it would make him look even more vulnerable, not to mention silly, to sit there and cup his genitalia possessively.

Bishop glided through the vault door, his hands in his pockets, and greeted them with a genial smile. "Hello, boys!"

Aidan rose to his feet, his eyes shooting daggers at his maker. "You coward!" Aidan accused, his voice lower, more guttural: his vampire voice. "Were you too afraid to fight me?"

Bishop looked delighted, and amused. "Afraid? No, no, no! I just thought this would be more interesting!" Bishop turned his head to address Josh. "You know... more fun!"

"This is between you and I, you leave him out of it!"

"Oh," Bishop said smugly, running his eyes over Aidan's naked body, "I would have loved to keep this just between you and me."

There was something about the way Aidan was glaring back at Bishop, his immodest stance under the other vampire's eyes that caused an uncomfortably warm flush of understanding to pass through Josh's body. He felt his lips purse together as he shut his eyes for a small moment. He felt so stupid. The two of them had been lovers, Josh thought. Of course they had been lovers!

Bishop shook his head slowly, as if it were all so much of a shame. "You're the one who brought him into this, Aidan, not me. Live by the sword, die by the sword. Unless you make a different choice..."

Aidan looked off to the side, annoyed, refusing to answer.

The older vampire canted his head, eyebrows raised. "No? Well... Okay, then, here's how this is going to work! A few minutes before our..." He paused for a moment as he indicated Josh, "werewolf friend here transforms, the time locks on the vault door will engage. When the sun comes up, the time locks will disengage, on both the cage and the vault door. Anyone left alive in the morning will be allowed to walk out of here, unchallenged. Winner takes all!" He focused on Aidan. "Now, before the vault door locks, you can call an end to this, but only if you are willing to get back on board with my plan. Would you like to do that now, Aidan?"

The younger vampire seemed to consider this for a scant moment, and then gave his head a small shake.

"No? Alright then... it will be very interesting to see how this plays out between the two of you! I know which way I bet my money!" He sent the pair a confident, not-so-reassuring smile as he turned and exited the vault.

Aidan took a deep breath, his arms raising, his fingers lacing themselves behind his head as he slowly exhaled and turned, taking a couple of steps away from Josh. Another deep, slow breath in, and Aidan spun and ran toward the cage door. With a short, frustrated yell he grabbed the bars, throwing his full weight at the bars immediately above the lock. The vampire coiled and jerked backwards, pulling with all his strength. He pushed forward again, and then backwards, this time bracing his foot on the bar next to the cage. He continued pulling, but felt no give or bending. He abandoned the attempt, his muscles going slack as he grasped the bars only lightly now. Aidan let his forehead rest on the bar closest to him. "Well," he told his friend softly, "it was worth a shot."

"So what now?" Josh asked him.

Aidan turned around, letting go of the bars and sliding down to sit on the ground, keeping his body slightly turned away from Josh. He lifted the leg closer to Josh slightly, planting the bottom of his foot on the ground and draping his arm along his leg. It wasn't that he cared if Josh saw him naked; he just wanted to make his friend comfortable. The situation was intimidating enough, and they needed to talk with as few distractions as possible. "Well, it looks like we have a choice to make. We need to go over our options."

"And those are?" The werewolf prompted.

"Well, option one, I kill you before you turn, and walk out of here in the morning."

"That... wouldn't be my favorite." The werewolf volunteered. The vampire nodded.

"Okay," Aidan went on considerately, "option two: we wait for you to turn, and your wolf will kill me."

"If you're dead, who's going to stop Bishop?" Josh asked gently. It was hard to bring up an argument that had him losing the _who-will-live_ coin toss, but spinning the conversation to favor only him would be too cowardly to bear in retrospect. Get all the chips on the table, and let them fall where they would.

"The Dutch... Or one of the other families. Someone will. Nobody wants a war." Aidan's voice was quiet, but firm. Comforting.

Josh shook his head with an impatient huff. "Aidan, look, just tell Bishop what he wants to hear! Get us out of here... Go along with him for now, and we can sort this out later!"

Aidan gave him a defeated shake of the head. "And then the very first thing Bishop will have me do to prove my loyalty to him is to kill you! He will only let me out of this cage over your dead body."

Josh exhaled, racking his mind for ideas. "Alright, maybe you could drain me, just enough for me to pass out." Josh looked nauseated. "Maybe I'll... I'll just... sleep... through it."

Again Aidan shook his head. "Then transforming will either kill you, or revive you. And the wolf will be looking for the easiest way to replenish his bodily fluids. We're back to you dying or me getting eaten."

Josh's eyes were brightening as he choked back the helpless tears. He took several deep breaths. "So that's it then? We have to choose between the two of us?"

"No." Aidan answered. "I've lived lifetimes, Josh. You have: A Life; now... And a family to go back to." This time it was Aidan's eyes that stung with tears. "No choice."

Josh gazed at Aidan sadly, contemplating the end. But Aidan was looking off to the side, as if he were hiding something… or hesitating. There was something he wasn't saying.

Josh felt his body lean forward. "Aidan? What is it?"

Aidan murmured haltingly "there is one person a werewolf won't kill!"

"What?" Josh asked, confused. "Who?"

Aidan looked at him. "Do you trust me, Josh?" He asked levelly. "I mean REALLY trust me?"

Josh took a breath to answer, and then hesitated.

The older man sat forward, crossed his legs and looked behind him, watching the vault door for a long moment, before turning back to Josh. "The one person a werewolf won't kill... is his mate. The one and only chance of our both surviving the night together, is if we convince your wolf that I'm its mate!"

Josh's head turned slightly away from Aidan, his eyes narrowing. "And how would we convince the wolf of that?"

"Um… Scent marking."

Josh's shoulders dropped, along with his head, so he was now looking up at Aidan dubiously. "Scent marking," he repeated back. It sounded very questionable.

"Yes, scent marking," Aidan answered. "We get your pheromones all over me, and then when you turn, I'll smell like you, and not like... a stranger. Kinda like a... biochemical Post-It note!"

Josh looked overwhelmed. "So it's your idea, that you and I..." He let his voice trail off, unable to even voice his friend's insinuation.

"Yes... but don't worry about that. That part will be easy. I can compel you," Aidan said with a dismissive wave of his hand. "But you have to choose me, Josh. Freely, you have to choose me as your mate."

"Nora..." Josh began, but his friend cut him off.

"... Isn't here!" A stretch of silence. "You DO want us both to live, don't you?"

Josh just stared at him.

"Josh, I know this isn't going to be easy for you. You will have to let down every guard you have put up against me... Every wall you have put up to protect yourself. You will have to let me in, all the way and trust me: completely. And if you truly aren't able to do that, please let me know, because our time will be just as well spent playing a game of I Spy. But right now, Josh, at this moment, my life is totally in your hands."

Josh held up his hands in front of him, palms out, imploring his friend to stop. "Just..." He stammered," Just... give me a minute?"

The vampire gave a little nod. "Sure." he said softly.

The werewolf crossed his ankles in front of him, rested his elbow on his knees and covered his face, giving himself a dark, private place to think.

Josh cleared his mind.

He wished Sally were here. Josh wondered, not for the first time, if there was some way to summon her, some way to make them easy for her to find. Why had he never tried to wear her ring? If the ring could find its way back to her, could she find her way back to the ring? Moot point now, since he and Aidan were both stripped clean. Even his necklace had been taken off of him. And he had never tried to wear Sally's ring because it was hers, not his. Sally wasn't a plaything, and some things were private. She would still have come in handy here, though. She might have been able to short-circuit the time locks and set them free. What advice would she give if she were here? His mind went back to their conversation the last time he was in this situation, locked in with a man he was supposed to kill. "I have to kill a man," he had told her then, "That's not who I am, I can't do that."

In response, Sally, whose biggest problem is that she had been murdered, did not even so much as blink her eyes before telling him firmly, "I think you have to!" What would she tell him now? He could well imagine: "Let me get this straight: you get to save the life of your ONLY friend, AND finally get laid? Wow, Josh! You REALLY have to THINK about this?"

Aidan was right; it wasn't the sex that was important, although he really didn't see how that part was going to work at the moment. No, it was letting down all of his defenses. For the last two years, he felt like he had been hanging on to the last shred of his humanity through rigidity. He had no control over the wolf: not when it came, not what it did, or where it left him in the morning. So the control he had over himself the rest of the time was very important to him. He wasn't looking to grow for growth's sake. He strived hard to make his life small and manageable, negating any force that worked to disturb or interrupt his treasured normalcy. Sometimes that force was Aidan and his vampire drama; and Josh knew he was not gentle with his friend. Aidan had a tendency to be too permissive with himself, and he relied on Josh to create consequences to keep him in line. He didn't coddle Aidan. He created boundaries and enforced them. That was his role in their friendship... and yeah, maybe sometimes he did take it too far. But for his part, Aidan could do some really stupid, psychopathic shit, and that guarded and suspicious part of Josh couldn't help but suspect that Aidan had put forth this idea so Aidan could get close to him and kill him before he could even see it coming.

Josh made moral decisions in his life based on who he had been before he was turned, and who he wanted to be. He wanted to be human. He wanted to be a good friend. He tried to imagine life without Aidan, living with the guilt of Aidan's death. How could he possibly be there for Nora and the baby after that? Grief and loneliness would come back into his life. He would be alone. Ray had told Josh that one day Josh would wish he had Ray as a companion. Josh didn't want Ray. He preferred Aidan.

Deep down, he didn't really believe there would be any spiritual repercussions to fooling around sexually with another man. He wasn't interested in Aidan that way and certainly wasn't in love with him, but having sex with Aidan would add not so much as an ounce more of damnation than consorting with a vampire in the first place, or that being cursed as a werewolf didn't already weigh upon him.

As somewhat of an armchair history buff, Josh knew that so much of human history was a colorful tableau of stories of ordinary people just like him, (at least... ordinary like he USED to be!) that rose to the occasion. People who had the courage to step out of their comfort zones and give what the situation demanded, and not allow themselves to be limited by who they used to be. Their actions had been dictated by what had to be done to free them from an imposed situation and get them what they wanted most. The cleverer, the better. Sometimes they failed, but at least they had TRIED. Plus, he had to admit, Aidan's plan was pretty clever: Use the fact they were monsters to beat the vampires at their own game. Best of all, they would both survive the night, which, right now, is what Josh wanted most in the world.

In order to save Aidan's life, he had to let go of every defense he had left to him: to give in to not what they wanted to be, but what they were. Both of them had to go against all their instincts and learning: Josh had to trust a vampire completely, and Aidan had to trust a wild wolf not to kill him. It was the supernatural version of a mutual trust fall.

Allowing his hands to fall away from his face, Josh sighed as he crossed his arms in front of him. He looked at Aidan. "You think this could really work?"

Aidan shrugged. "I think it's our only chance."

"You can't pass on STDs, right?" Josh kind of doubted Bishop would be willing to provide condoms, even if they asked extra nice.

"Nope! I'm still impervious."

"And, it's not like I can get you pregnant!"

"Not at all," Aidan replied smoothly.

Josh remained silent, so Aidan continued. "Hey, if you had to choose a mate, I wouldn't be a bad choice. I'm good looking!"

"In your own opinion!" Josh shot back teasingly.

"I've met your parents!" Aidan pointed out.

"You lied your way into my mother's house by telling her you would KILL for a glass of water!"

Not to be deterred, Aidan went on, "you've met my maker!"

"And look where that's landed us!"

The vampire softened his voice. "I think we do a pretty good job taking care of each other."

Josh's tone also dropped. "I smell like a dog to you," he complained self-consciously.

"That doesn't even rate on my list of concerns for today." Aidan assured him.

The werewolf sighed, bracing himself.

"Hey," Aidan went on, "it's not without its risks. I mean... say we do this, and it works. What if werewolves mate for life and you are stuck with me forever? What if in the morning they kill me, let you go, and then you waste away pining for me?

Josh shot him a funny look. "I don't think werewolves mate for life."

Aidan smiled at him. "No?"

Josh shook his head, helpless to stop the smile from creeping across his face.

Aidan beamed at him. "Good to know!"

They both chuckled.

Josh quickly settled back into nervousness. "So, how does compelling work? What exactly are you going to do?"

"I'm going to selectively enhance certain emotions, and program you to bond with me. Emotions are safer to work with, because people feel prompted to act on them in the moment without processing them logically, and because emotions can change and fade on their own. Also, emotions go deep enough that the wolf will have access to them, but there is no guarantee that the wolf will choose to follow your feelings on the matter. That's why we need you to accept them as deeply as you can, cement in your mind the feeling that I am your mate. It's more likely to work, and less dangerous than implanting or removing thoughts, but any type of compelling can be risky. The old adage that all hypnosis is self-hypnosis is true... to a certain degree. So the more you cooperate, the safer it will be for you; both while I put the programming in place, and after. If you fight it, you could set up a kind of paradox in your mind that will work to break down your sanity. Just... think of it as kind of a science experiment. Since you know what I am doing to you, you know you don't need to justify your feelings logically, or fight against them because they're not yours. Just know and be prepared that you are going to be feeling certain emotions as time goes on. You don't have to act on them. Just keep an eye on them, and let them run their course."

Josh bolstered himself, and nodded, "Okay! How are we going to do this?"

"Simple," Aidan replied, "just sit down in front of me," he held up his hands palms up in front of him and wiggled his fingers, "take my hands, and follow my lead."

Josh got up, walked the three steps to sit down on the floor in front of Aidan. He mirrored Aidan's position and sat with his legs akimbo. His knees brushing Aidan's, he took Aidan's hands in his own. Josh did his best to keep his eyes on Aidan's, but he could feel himself blushing as he felt more naked than ever. Brown eyes met brown eyes expectantly. Aidan squeezed his hands reassuringly, and tried to open his mind to receive the other man's mental energies.

"Now, I need you to keep a very open mind, your sense of humor, and just... enjoy the process." Aidan smiled softly. "I'll show you what a vampire can do!"

Josh closed his eyes and sighed deeply, reframing his mind. After a moment he opened his eyes and nodded at Aidan.

"Now, I want you to tell me about the day we met, and as you tell me the story, concentrate on your feelings towards me."

Josh tipped his head back slightly, casting his mind back.

"It was about a year ago. I was exploring career possibilities, dabbling in the restaurant industry..."

They both smiled.

Josh got down to business. "I was turned about a year prior, so I was settling into the change, and still trying to figure out in what direction I wanted to move. I was pretty lonely, but the job kept me busy, and I was starting to feel the need to have some stability back in my life. One day, I had the misfortune of running into two vampires. I didn't know they were vampires at first. I didn't know that vampires really existed." Josh drew himself up. "I didn't believe in them," he said with a little smile. Aidan gazed kindly back. Josh's smile faded. "But they believed in werewolves, and they knew I was two weeks out from the full moon and vulnerable. They followed me out back, started hassling me, and took turns hitting me. They were so much stronger than me. I was outnumbered when I would have been outmatched with either of them.

But you came along, and stopped them: A mysterious stranger, appearing out of the darkness to save me."

Josh's eyes softened. There. That feeling. Affection. Aidan carefully touched the new emotion in Josh's mind, amorphous and complicated as it was, and attenuated it to manifest stronger.

Aidan remembered his initial impulse for saving Josh hadn't been purely out of pity or interest in the poor werewolf. He had first and foremost wanted to be a jerk to Marcus. Marcus had gone out of his way to prey on a stereotypical enemy who was too weak to mount any kind of defense. Marcus was always going after the easiest kill, had no strength of character, and after over two hundred years, was still jealous of Aidan and sulking that he wasn't Bishop's favorite; the bootlicking putz. But that night, after Aidan had run Marcus off, he had been curious. One day a month, werewolves were stronger than vampires, therefore a threat. But Aidan had never sat down and talked to one, known one as a friend. Why not? Well, one reason was when he had dealt with werewolves in the past, he was drinking live, and he didn't care about others at all. Another reason is that every werewolf he had met before had either been menaced by other vampires in the past, or was currently imprisoned by vampires and mistrusted his kind. But deep down, Aidan always suspected they had a lot in common. Both of them started out human, and then were changed into something supernatural. They were able to transmit their condition to others, and by necessity, were forced to live in secret. And like every other living soul, they would try to find meaning in their own lives. Maybe they had something they could teach each other, if they could just get past their mutual mistrust. Aidan had a gut feeling about this guy, this werewolf, that maybe he was a kindred spirit.

Josh continued his story. "So, immediately after I begin to believe in vampires, you wanted me to believe in vampire nurses!" The affection for Aidan in Josh's mind was stronger now, flowing more easily. "You helped me get the job at the hospital. You told me that if we were ever going to be friends, I would have to let go of the expectation that you would kill me one day." Josh's gaze in to Aidan's eyes sharpened. Trust. Aidan touched that too, strengthened it, deepened it. "You wanted your humanity back, just like I did." Wanting would be a useful emotion to have today. Aidan selected it. Josh continued to tell their story, gratitude for Aidan saving his sister from the wolf. Respect for a piece of good advice or two. The comfort of sharing a home, being like a family. Josh relayed a time when he had been worried about Aidan, and under the heaviness of concern, Aidan found love.

"Now I want you to bring into your mind the most powerful sexual image you have ever experienced in your life. Focus specifically on the details that aroused you the most." Every man had one, most often from early adolescence. It could be a scent or sound, but it was usually visual. It could be a moment when they saw a glimpse of skin that was supposed to be hidden, the curve of a thigh in tightened clothing, or an entrancing line of cleavage that embodied in their minds all the mystery and potential pleasure of sexual contact. Something that made them spring to a full hardness that would not abate.

Aidan took the strengthened emotions and married them, twisted them, braided and blurred them together in Josh's mind. The young man's face held a warm and open expression as he regarded his best friend. Aidan took those feelings and pushed them a little deeper into Josh's mind, as deep as he dared, deep enough to scare him a little. He had no idea exactly how deeply they needed to be located for the wolf to have access to them. Ray had been confident that he and Josh would be able to transform together after Ray had lived with them for only a month. He had lived with Josh far longer than a month.

Normally, Aidan would only need to implant the idea of sex connected with himself in a man's mind to get a straight fellow eager to bed him, and if the guy needed more of a push: introducing the idea that the victim was feeling lustful and courageous. It was absurdly simple. Right now, Aidan's life now depended on imprinting his programming deeply enough to override the genetic code that would cause a wolf to recognize only a female of its own kind as a suitable mate. That meant working with feelings for Aidan that were already intrinsic to Josh's mind. Foreign ideas implanted just below Josh's conscious mind simply would not be strong enough to reach the wolf. And let's not forget the fact that Josh's life was depending on the vampire not shattering his sanity.

One thing left. "I want you to bring into your mind a time when the whole world seemed like it was made of possibilities and future success. A time when you took a big risk that worked out well for you. Think about what it felt like in the moment you accomplished that big step." Josh's eyes shined as he brought a memory to his mind. Aidan hadn't asked him to share it aloud, if his friend's biggest risk was proposing to his ex or moving in with Aidan, putting it out there to hang ominously between them tonight would not be helpful. He found what he needed, the interwoven bindings of Josh's inhibitions. Removing some of Josh's self-doubt would crack the rigid control the werewolf kept over himself and his sexual urges. Josh's remand of that control was imperative to this plan working. Aidan worked the bindings, put imaginary fingers in the holes between and spread them, loosened their hold. He felt them unravel and fall away. Josh was his for the taking.

Aidan asked softly, "Josh, are you feeling this?"

The corners of Josh's mouth quirked up in a smile. A light "uh-huh" answered in the affirmative. He literally had never loved Aidan more. It was funny in a weird, ridiculous way; hilarious even, that an outside influence could affect him like this. He knew exactly what was causing it, and was helpless against feeling it, all the same. He felt a powerful physical pull to touch his friend, to break out of the norm and go exploring every inch of the vampire's body. Aidan's thumbs were gently rubbing the backs of Josh's hands, arousing him powerfully and sending little shivers through his body.

Aidan sent back a small, reassuring smile. "Do you want to kiss me?"

The smile didn't falter. Josh repeated the same close lipped "uh-huh." His smile got bigger, and his shoulders moved with a couple of silent chuckles.

"Kiss me, Josh."

Aidan leaned forward slightly, helping to close the gap between the two men. Without hesitation, Josh moved his head obediently forward and pressed his own lips sweetly to Aidan's. Josh's hands pulled out of Aidan's light grasp, and drifted upwards to frame Aidan's face as they languidly explored the kiss together. When Josh was ready, Aidan let him deepen the kiss. Slowly Aidan took control, kissing Josh with a steadily mounting passion. For his part, Josh's breathing had quickened, and he began touching Aidan more liberally while they kissed, his fingertips moving over the planes of Aidan's chest and thighs. They both kneeled up for better access to the other's body, freely touching and stroking one another's back, arms and sides, sometimes coming up to run their fingers through the other's hair. They were kissing deeply now, starting to pant a little, clinging to each other. While they did this, Aidan would pull back and look into Josh's eyes, looking for the pleasure centers in Josh's mind, and ratcheting them up a notch. Just a little notch or two... or five. He wanted Josh pliable and feeling no pain.

The vampire pulled the lithe body to him, pulling the werewolf under him and over onto his back, sliding his body up between the smaller man's legs, interlacing their fingers with one hand while he cushioned the back of his partner's head with the other hand as he settled on top of him: all without breaking the kiss. Aidan pulled back to look into Josh's eyes. Josh gasped lightly for air, breathing quickly. "Oh, Aidan!" he said, sounding surprised. Josh grasped the back of Aidan's neck, and pulled him back into a deep, loving kiss.

Aidan pressed Josh to the ground, kissing his way down the younger man's body and touching him everywhere with broad, encompassing strokes. Josh crossed his wrists on the ground above his head, knees fallen to either side of Aidan's body, relaxed and holding himself totally open for his friend. Josh's entire body was thrumming and tingling under his roommate's ministrations.

It was with no small amount of chagrin Josh realized he had been a little bit cocky about the fact that he wasn't in the least bit seduced by Aidan's condition. Vampires were supposed to be irresistible. A thin voice spoke up from somewhere in the recesses of Josh's mind, sing-songing mockingly, "kiss that goodbye, wolf boy!" before fading away entirely. For about six months now, they had lived side by side, as platonic friends, and not without some conflict. He had never been predisposed to cutting Aidan slack because he was a vampire. They had made a pact when they moved in together, to be as human as possible, to provide for one another all the comforts of home, because neither of them could ever go home again. They were brothers in arms, the two of them. And dealing with one another on that level allowed them to keep each other on that path, it allowed them to call each other on their BS, and be more vulnerable with each other. They weren't lovers. They were family. Josh supposed that it shouldn't surprise him that Aidan would use his vampire nature to defend himself against Josh's werewolf nature. When it came down to it, at the very root of this situation, this was the two of them working together to protect one another.

Aidan continued to press sweet, suckling kisses as he worked his way down Josh's torso. The scent of the wolf was strong on Josh, but Aidan could also smell their home, and the hospital. It wasn't until that moment that he realized what scent was missing. Nora's scent wasn't on Josh's skin. Aidan had often picked up her perfume on Josh's clothes, but there wasn't a trace of it on his skin. He had this insane urge to look up and ask how everything was going between the two of them. The vampire mentally kicked himself; this was a really bad time to be bringing it up. As he kissed his way down the column of Josh's erect sex and sucked Josh's testicles into his mouth, Aidan reassessed. Josh had been celibate for two years. Then Nora. Aidan had thought they were an item, and involved, but obviously not. This could complicate things today. Aidan needed to keep Josh at the height of his arousal for as long as he could, needed the room permeated with Josh's arousal pheromones, mixed with his own. But if he wasn't getting laid on a regular basis, keeping him from orgasming quickly may be a challenge. His Josh. Such a gentleman! And what a trooper he was, going along with this plan at all, just to save his friend.

Aidan was still running his hands over the werewolf, making his skin sensitive to touch. As Aidan dragged his tongue up the underside of Josh's cock, he reached up and slipped two fingers between Josh's lips, caressing his friend's tongue with his fingertips. He took Josh's cock into his mouth, enjoying the way his friend moaned and squirmed underneath him.

Josh sucked on the fingers, and then squirmed slightly as those fingers trailed down his body, straight down to press lightly against his anus. Josh picked up his head, finding Aidan's eyes with his own. The vampire smiled at him. Winked! "Go with me" he whispered, before taking Josh's entire length back into his mouth. The younger man moaned and dropped his head back to the ground. Heaven help him. He was indeed in the vampire's grip. He felt Aidan's fingers breach him, moving in small circles to relax the muscles. Every time the fingers moved, the cunning little vamp between his legs would distract him by tonguing his cock in a way that was just a little bit different each time. Not a lot of stimulation, Aidan was being such a tease. Josh began to contemplate that HE wouldn't survive this. Aidan was gonna tease him to death!

Josh whimpered the vampire's name. The other man smiled, and oh so slowly pulled his mouth off of the werewolf's cock to kiss his way down to where his fingers had been busy. An exclamation of "oooh!" escaped the younger man's lips as the older man's tongue found its way inside. No woman had ever done this for Josh. It felt... amazing. So many nerve endings there. Aidan brought up Josh's legs, pulling Josh's hips down to meet him, enthusiastically finding those nerve endings. Dimly, Josh was grateful that he started cleaning out his lower digestive system with enemas either the night before or the morning of the full moon. He hated the fact the wolf would consume its own feces, and the way it would repeat on him the next day. Ever since Ray had shown up in his life, Josh was taking a more active role in coming up with new ways to outsmart the wolf. So, monthly enemas were his latest way to free himself of the unnecessary, unpleasant aspects of his condition; one less way of being Ray's victim. Aidan's fingers found their way back into the action, and Josh gave himself over utterly, letting the new sensations wash over his body.

The vampire took his time, stretching Josh slowly, preparing him. He needed it to feel good. And if he wanted to be completely honest with himself, he wanted to make Josh feel good. It was an amazing opportunity. A free pass. A Get-Sex-With-Josh-Free card. No freak outs about sexual identity and worrying about the future of their relationship. Just him and Josh and right now. That is... it would be a free pass if this plan actually worked. He had to remember, though, if he didn't pull this off, it might just be good-bye sex. He would try his best not to put Josh through that. It was bad enough for Josh last time, having to kill Douglas. He couldn't send Josh home with his best friend's blood on his hands, covered in a thin coating of ash, and having to explain what happened to Sally. Lubricant would have made this easier, and Aidan was surreptitiously depositing as much saliva on Josh and in Josh as he could, as well as building as liberal a coating as possible on his own cock. Saliva wasn't a great lubricant, but something was better than nothing. Josh was well under Aidan's influence, so he wouldn't feel any discomfort and the transformation should neatly heal any unintentional damage. Luck was on their side, though, they were in a vault with no drafts that could dry them out quickly. Josh was a good man, a good friend, and it made Aidan feel heartsick to think about what a failure tonight would do to the werewolf. It was all up to Aidan.

Aidan gave Josh's hole one last lick, and slowly moved back up Josh's body, dragging his tongue across the other man's skin on the way up; over his testicles, his penis, abdomen, chest, up his neck and across his jawbone. He planted a kiss on his friend's chin, and left a trail of kisses down the other side of his jaw. He murmured into Josh's ear. "Hey Josh!"

Josh smiled. "Hey Aidan."

"Are you ready for me, big boy?" The baritone rumble in Aidan's voice slithered down Josh's ear canal, tickling, making him shiver.

Josh closed his eyes and whispered "yes."

The older man claimed the lips of the younger in a slow languid kiss as he settled his weight more fully on the prone figure, lining himself up and pressing steadily at the opening of his roommate's body. He slid in slowly, controlled, allowing the panting man beneath him to adjust to the feeling of fullness. Aidan began to gently move his hips, allowing Josh the time he needed to explore the new sensations. He watched Josh's reactions carefully, slowly picking up speed. When the werewolf adapted: breathing in gulps and arching up to get more contact with his friend; the vampire stopped. Slipping one arm under the werewolf's back, and cradling his head, picked up the smaller man and holding him tightly to himself as he kneeled up, settling his lover on his lap for a moment before rising up completely and moving them both to the bars of the cage.

Josh's hands found the cross bars of the cage, quickly discovering he had to keep his arms bent with his muscles engaged to stay in contact with his partner, his calves clamped tight to Aidan's hips. Finding himself suddenly suspended in the air, practically held up by only the bars of the cage and his best friend's cock buried inside of him, the werewolf looked at the older man in surprise. Eyes wide, chest heaving, a wave of pure lust washed over Josh as he looked into a set of vampire's black eyes. Dark nature was calling to dark nature in a siren's song that was ramping in amplitude as it passed back and forth between them.

The vampire focused intently on his partner's face. "I need you to cum twice for me, Josh... Can you do that for me today?"

Josh panted back in surprise. "Only twice?" He felt growls well up from deep inside of him as they kissed passionately, the wolf was so close now, but Aidan, his Aidan, was slightly closer, inside of him, holding him, one arm around his back to support him through the thrusting, and his other hand not stroking, but clamped snugly around his sex, which felt rock hard and pulsing with his own quickened heartbeat. Josh's mind swam. He had never experienced this before, a lover who was bigger than him, taller, stronger, and damn near indestructible. Someone with whom he could completely let go with. To go wild... Literally. Attraction is the recognition of your worst traits in another. Two dark creatures here, feral, fearsome beasts locked in an embrace.

Aidan heard footsteps approaching. Shit. Bishop. He must have been watching them on the camera feeds. Aidan pulled back slightly. "Josh, stay focused on me!" Panting hard now, Josh opened his eyes, barely able to focus on his new lover before nodding his head and closing his eyes again in utter trust and surrender. Aidan shifted Josh's weight forward and back onto himself, pulled them both away from the bars, spun them around and still joined, placed Josh flat on the ground again as gently as he could in the middle of their cage. The last thing Aidan needed was Bishop coming up and pulling Josh's hair, or worse, staking him through the heart from the other side of the bars.

Bishop walked up in steady, deliberate steps. He stood at the bars, his hands in his pockets as he regarded the copulating couple with a somewhat amused, pensive expression. Bishop's tone was relaxed and unhurried. "A little desperate, are we?"

Aidan looked up at him, but didn't respond to his maker, simply continued thrusting into the body under him.

"One way or another, we need to settle this between the two of us. It's not too late, you know, for you to renounce your heresy, come back, and choose me."

Slowly Aidan shook his head. For hundreds of years, it had been he and Bishop. Him believing in Bishop, him following anywhere Bishop wanted to lead. But Bishop had waited too long to make his move. Aidan had changed. Aidan's own words to Bishop echoed back to him in his mind, spoken some fifty years before. "Oh, smarten up, pal. Either I leave you now, or I betray you later." And with that, Bishop had let Aidan step out, and even let him wander for small spans of years at a time. But Bishop had never let Aidan LEAVE. Never let Aidan GO. And so it comes back now, to bite him.

Bishop turned his attention to Josh. "Hey doggie! Don't you know that the man..."

But Josh spoke up then, a breathless "Oh, yes, Aidan, right there! Just like that!" Josh tightened his legs around Aidan, hooking his heels around the back of the vampire's thighs to cling them closer together. He was caught up and strung tight, growling steadily now, whining, digging his fingernails deep into his partner's back, obviously completely oblivious to Bishop's presence there.

Bishop scoffed derisively, giving the werewolf a hard look. He turned his eyes back up to Aidan's face, looking at him as if he were scum. "Final Answer?"

Aidan thought about what he really wanted. He wanted what Josh had. Life. He had lived too many long years in the darkness, in the world of the dead. His world, Bishop's world; Sally's. And in that moment the body underneath him wasn't just Josh, his Josh, but all of humanity, every living breathing being, alive, so alive... and with life can come love, hope, redemption... forgiveness. Aidan let his lips part in a panting, mocking smile. His fangs extended, and in one quick motion, Aidan swooped down and plunged his fangs deep into Josh's neck. Arterial blood splattered out across the floor, and a pool of reflective ruby red quickly started to blossom out, reclaiming the closer droplets. A perfect vampire money shot. Aidan extracted his fangs, pressed his closed lips tight to the wound, and let the sensation of living blood spurting over his lips carry him over the brink.

Josh gasped in pleasure as he felt Aidan's fangs stab into him. He felt Aidan pulsing inside of him, forcing a greater sensation of being filled as Aidan's sterile fluids pumped deep into him. As Aidan's motions began to stutter with his orgasm, the hand he had clamped over Josh's aching sex began to move, stroking once, twice, and third time is the charm. Fuck. fuck, fuck, too much, too much, too much! Josh's brain short circuited entirely, every thought blotted out by a blinding white light with small pops of color manifesting behind his closed eyelids with every pulse of his ejaculation. Josh was completely insensate to sound, and he was grateful for it, because he knew if he was making noise, there was no way it sounded human.

Aidan heard the solid vault door pushed closed, creating a seal. He looked up and around the room, Bishop was gone.

Josh's mind was floating. Hazily, he felt the world move. He let himself continue to float, feeling safe in Aidan's arms. His first thought when his brain started to come back online, was that this moment had created such an indelible residual glow, that it would show up on even the most routine of brain scans, no matter how far into the future. He came back to find himself straddling Aidan's lap. There was a curious sensation of pressure on his neck. He touched that place, discovering it was Aidan's fingers; one of the arms that were wrapped around him was clamping the wound from behind him. He left his hand lingering over his friend's for a moment, affectionately. Josh lifted his head and looked into Aidan's brown eyes. Josh gave him such a sappy, satiated smile Aidan couldn't help but smile back at his friend, chuckling a little. Languidly, Josh licked off the drying blood covering his best friend's lips, chin and nose, grooming him. When he was satisfied that Aidan was clean, he slipped his tongue between the vampire's lips, enjoying the hell out of the afterglow. God, Aidan was a good kisser. Curiously, Josh explored his friend's fangs with his tongue. In his mind's eye, he saw what the cameras must see: the two of them, intertwined, kissing, and the singular thick rivulet of red on his back shining out against his alabaster skin like a Christmas ribbon. Finally he sighed, ending the kiss and resting his forehead against Aidan's.

Josh consulted his internal countdown clock. He figured they had about an hour left. One tiny little hour. He loved Aidan too much to let this plan fail, and that wasn't the compelling talking. For the past year, he had built a life with this man. He was the linchpin holding everything together. Aidan was the first person who accepted Josh for what he had become. So much of Aidan's life was dead water washed under the bridge, too many sad stories built up over too damn long. He needed a safe place as much as Josh did. A home. Without Aidan, he would have no life here. He wouldn't be able to live with himself anywhere, for that matter.

Josh opened his eyes and smiled at his friend. "Hey!"

Aidan smiled back, his brown eyes shining. "Hey!" He paused a moment, then asked "How are you doing?"

"I'm doing good." Josh assured him seriously. "We're on track."

The vampire looked a little relieved, and turned his attention to the werewolf's neck. He slowly peeled his fingers off of the bite mark, to find the blood was clotting there okay. The hand that was holding the wound drifted down to Josh's waist, pulling them closer together. Aidan could feel Josh's cock, still hard against his stomach. "Are you okay to keep going, or do you need a few minutes?"

Josh smirked. "I'm ready."

Josh was as supernaturally enhanced as he could be this side of human. Refractory time: zero. He was damn near insatiable near the full moon, and wildly turned on by a myriad of things that would shock both nuns and scientists. It had irritated him that when he and Sally first met; she threw it in his face that he masturbated to Nova. It wasn't his fault he had all this restlessness building up inside of him and no other way to burn it off entirely other than transform and rage and run. Orgasms gave him as much respite as he could get. He had been terrified to take a lover, though. Afraid he would hurt her even while he was still human. Afraid the wolf would track her scent back into town, and hunt her instead of the circular rump roast hunt he usually had the wolf running these days. So many bad things were waiting to happen, all of the time. Like the situation they were in right now. The only way to save them this time was to throw himself into this with his whole heart, and that was exactly what he planned to do.

Aidan laid him back down, pulled out of his body and rubbed the wet head of his cock up and down the cleft of Josh's buttocks. He smiled when Josh grimaced. "I know it's a little uncomfortable, but I definitely want the wolf to know that I was there." Josh accepted this with a helpless sort of laugh. "Hey!" Aidan said, trying to cheer up his friend. "I am sure the wolf will lick it clean for you!"

Josh laughed harder. "Yeah... you're probably right."

Aidan moved the werewolf's legs closer together, and he moved his legs to the outside, so he was now straddling Josh's hips.

Josh saw that Aidan had one hand clenched. He looked at it curiously, then up at Aidan.

Aidan stammered in that way he had. "Uh... it's..." He unclenched his hand, showing he had caught and held Josh's ejaculate.

"Oh," Josh said, "you are very resourceful! Were you a boy scout?"

"Nope, they hadn't been invented yet when I was alive."

Josh seemed to consider this. "Oh yeah...I guess not," he murmured.

They smiled at one another. Aidan fell to kissing Josh again, to stay engaged and in contact with his friend, and give Josh something to do while Aidan prepared himself. Not that Aidan minded. It was a nice way to pass the time.

Aidan breached his own body with his fingers. Little circles leads to more fingers, and Josh was getting creative with the tongue action, bless his heart. It had been years since Aidan had been with a man, but he was still able to prepare himself quickly. Some things you just never forget. Plus, he didn't want or need to prepare himself completely. He realized he wanted to feel Josh stretching him. Suddenly it felt like far too long since he had done this.

Aidan knelt up, positioning himself over Josh's hips, one hand guiding Josh's hard cock to his opening while his other hand rested lightly on Josh's chest, letting his best friend's heartbeat speak to his vampire senses through his fingertips, wanting to connect their monsters on the most primal levels. Aidan closed his eyes, and slowly pressed his body down, feeling the cock invading him burn and stretch him deliciously. Josh's hands caressed his thighs as he took in the entire length, holding his position to allow himself time to adjust, both of Aidan's hands now resting on Josh's chest.

Aidan rocked forward and back slowly, letting the sensation of being filled wash over him. He was ready. He leaned forward, giving Josh a quick kiss as he disengaged himself, and moved off of Josh's body to the side. The vampire settled on his knees and elbows, ducking his head to look around his shoulder and meet his friend's eyes. His eyes were still black as he crooked his finger in a 'come hither' gesture and whispered, "Come fuck me, Josh."

Josh responded instantly; the eye thing really seemed to be working for him tonight! Josh rolled up onto his knees behind Aidan, moving their bodies closer together as he kissed his way up Aidan's spine. He hesitated when he came across the marks on Aidan's back, surprised by the fresh scratches he hadn't realized he was making when Aidan was on top of him earlier. Four lines scored on both sides of his back, symmetrically, horizontally moving from just outside the spine to the outside of the shoulder blades. It almost looked like it was purposeful, like it was some ancient tribal marking or something.

"Aidan, I scratched you!"

Aidan cooed back to his friend. "Then I'm yours now, Josh!" He swayed back into Josh's body, fitting them tight together. "Fuck me!" Time was short. Aidan didn't care about the scratches. If they didn't get this done, his whole body would be nothing but dust. He needed to smell like a good time, not a happy meal.

Josh's eyes dropped back down to look at the scratches. He bent his head down to lick at them. He had seen Ray bite a vampire. Not having yet transformed, scratches like these posed no threat to anyone, but it served as a reminder that Josh's scratches couldn't hurt Aidan any more than Aidan's blood could hurt Josh. And right now, that was... really hot. Josh gathered his saliva on to his tongue, depositing it quietly on his fingers to spread over his cock quickly, freshening their makeshift lubricant. He pressed Aidan down with his other hand and Aidan acquiesced, subservient. It made Josh slightly dizzy. This was doing things to his wolf side that were just criminal.

He lined himself up with Aidan's opening, and entered his roommate's body in a single, strong stroke, arms coming up to hold tight to the body underneath him... And then Josh felt his own body slip straight out of his own control.

He felt himself lurch closer to his partner, pulling Aidan back hard against him, sitting them both up with Aidan held securely on his lap; suddenly wanting all of him, to be buried in him as deeply as possible, possess him as much as possible. His teeth latched themselves on to the side of Aidan's neck, not breaking the skin, but it was a strong grip. He was breathing deep, growling on the exhale, fighting the urge to bite down, to mark, to rip and tear, to own in every way possible. He hadn't had this much skin at his disposal since he was infected two years ago... The only time he had a warm body at his mercy like this was when the wolf was hunting. Maybe trying to take out his supernatural frustrations sexually hadn't been the best idea after all. This is exactly why he had been afraid to take a lover! He had to get a hold of himself. This wasn't prey! This was Aidan!

Josh held still for a few moments, the growling subsiding before his teeth would finally unhinge and let his friend go. He licked at the artery as an apology for the bite hold, almost to lose his control again at the sight of his teeth marks, impressed in red on Aidan's neck. Josh rested his forehead on Aidan's shoulder, Aidan holding very still, being patient with his friend. Or... maybe he was waiting for Josh to go ahead and bite him, so they could both have fun. That thought did it: Josh silently fought back laughter, back in control. Open mind. Sense of humor. They could do this!

With a sigh of relief, he dropped a kiss on the vertebrae at the base of Aidan's neck and pushed him forward, back onto all fours, and laying his cheek on Aidan's shoulder blade, he began making love to his best friend with long, slow strokes. This was nice. Gods, he had missed this, being with someone like this. He scooped the saliva from his tongue with his fingers again, this time coating his fingers and reaching down between the vampire's legs. As his fingers explored and found a rhythm around Aidan's cock, he cautiously opened his senses to his partner. He kissed and licked Aidan's muscular shoulders, taking in his friend's scent, both masculine and familiar. Comfortable. He smelled the hospital. He smelled their home. He tossed up a wish to the universe that what they were up to at that moment would help them both arrive back home, safe and sound. He sucked hard at the scratch marks, because now that he had a finger on the pulse of Aidan's arousal, he could tell that the vampire really liked blood play.

Aidan decided things could not be going better. The two of them were making quite their own little pheromone sex cloud. Josh was really taking his task to heart. They had a bit of a rough start. Aidan had had a real Silence of the Lambs moment there, wondering if he had agreed to hook himself up with some werewolf version of Buffalo Bill. He had never followed a werewolf on the hunt, and he knew Josh's wolf could bring down some very big game: it had gotten a fully antlered buck at least once. He didn't think that wolves rutted with their meals before chowing down... not like, well... not like vampires did. But once Josh found his groove, he seemed to be on a mission to make this last as long as possible. When he could feel Josh nearing his orgasm, Josh would stop thrusting, running his hands all over Aidan's body, kissing, sucking, biting him lightly, and when he was back in control, he would start thrusting again. It was only after the third time Josh did this that it occurred to Aidan that Josh was waiting for him to come first. Duh! Aidan felt his heart just melt. He had been surprised that Josh had thought to touch him, trying to please him, knowing Josh had never been with a man, had a two year dry spell only recently end, and was currently under strict instructions to let Aidan take the lead. Awww! This was the sweetest thing anyone had done for him in a long time. This just might become a cherished memory... if they both lived to see tomorrow.

Aidan closed his eyes, stretching his spine and taking deep breaths, letting the sensations wash over him: Josh's cock inside of him, the feel of Josh's wet, delicately long fingered hand pumping his own erection, and Josh's arousal scent permeating the whole scene. It didn't take long before Aidan's arousal was cresting and he let the orgasm come, Josh's name on his lips, giving the other man permission to let his orgasm overtake him. Josh's arms tightened around Aidan, and Aidan could feel his roommate's cock pulsing inside of him, ejaculating.

The moment passed, but Josh didn't let Aidan go. His body had gone perfectly still, still clasping Aidan tight to him. Aidan looked over his shoulder at his friend.

"Josh?"

No answer. The werewolf's eyes were pressed tight shut, his brows knitted. His lips were moving.

Aidan tried again. "Josh?"

A small, frightened voice issued from his friend's lips, still moving.

"Mine. Mine. You're mine."

Shit. With the task at hand completed, and nothing left standing in between them and his transformation, the grave reality of their situation had crashed in on his friend, and Josh had gone from turned-on to terrified, instantaneously.

Josh lifted his head, not releasing Aidan from his strong hold, recalling Aidan's words perfectly.

"And brutally, against your human will, you will kill them all." A single tear tracked its way down the werewolf's cheek. "They're your family, which is exactly why they're defenseless against you."

"Oh, hey! Hey!" Aidan said, soothingly. He disengaged their bodies, and finding a clean spot on the floor, pulled Josh down to lay alongside him with the werewolf's head resting on the vampire's shoulder. Aidan rubbed the bare skin of Josh's back and upper arms to pacify him. He wiped the tear from Josh's cheek.

"I really need you to think good thoughts for me here, buddy."

No one knew better than Aidan that there were times you just couldn't bring yourself to clap for Tinker Bell, for fear it was the very act of daring to hope that would be your complete undoing when the inevitable fall came. He couldn't blame Josh; Josh's psyche was simply gearing up to protect him from the very worst blow. But at the same time, the subconscious mind was a very literal place. A warning to 'prepare for Aidan's death' could be interpreted as 'make sure Aidan dies.' And while most of this subconscious tom-foolery usually amounted to nothing, cancelled out by the higher brain functioning, Aidan could not help but be hyperaware that there were not two people alone in this room. There was an interloper among them, gallivanting in the very subconscious that was at this moment, considering the vampire's death. An interloper that would spring forth, fully formed with teeth bared, in less than an hour. In fifteen minutes, maybe. Maybe ten.

A vibration and a low hum shook the room. Aidan listened, alert, before identifying the sound. It was the time locks engaging on the vault door. The red LEDs on the cameras still glowed. Was Bishop watching, he wondered. It seemed so Dr. Evil all of a sudden, Bishop having them both at his mercy, and him leaving with the assumption that his plan would work perfectly. But what exactly was Bishop's plan? Which one of them was Bishop really rooting for? Maybe Bishop wanted to give Aidan a fair chance. Was he still testing Aidan, to see how strong he was? How resourceful? Tenacious? Was he hoping Aidan would break Josh's neck before he turned to save himself, or hoping his "Aidan Problem" would be neatly taken care of in a manner that would cause the most grief and pain?

Josh felt Aidan drop a kiss on the top of his head. He was staring at the tattoo Aidan wore above his heart. He could smell the ink: Celine. The name meant nothing to Josh. The vault locks finished moving into place with a clang, and a silence that was surely the harbinger of finality. With nothing left to be done to tip the odds in their favor, scent marking now felt like a colossal long shot. Aidan spoke to him.

"I want you to close your eyes, and imagine both of us walking into the house together tomorrow."

Josh closed his eyes, what could it hurt?

"You know Sally will probably be frantic that we didn't come home. No call. She can't find us anywhere. She'll be worried... and then when she sees us both come home, safe and sound, she will be so relieved, and secretly disappointed that she didn't get to see the two of us mating like little bunnies."

Sally. Grey clothes. Long dark hair spilling down. Olive skin. Beautiful woman. Strong, smart, funny. Their Sally. Died in their home. Their home together: the three Musketeers. Three is a very powerful number. Josh saw himself drawing a portrait; the three of them, together: a family portrait. He could see it perfectly, a drawing in pen and ink. Sally would look wistfully to her right, a doorknob loosely cradled in her hand, Aidan standing behind them in his leather jacket and sunglasses looking to his left, and himself sitting next to Sally; he would be the only one looking directly forward, since he was the only one living. After all they were going through together; they deserved at least one picture with all three of them. Hang it in the stairwell where she died. Here to stay, Family. The three of them, together. Family.

There were so many talks that were waiting for him and Aidan in the future. What else was out there, waiting for Josh to discover them? Fairies? Trolls? Warlocks? Josh had no idea. He would continue to have no idea, without a guide. He NEEDED Aidan. They needed each other.

Josh felt the first wave of his transformation wash through him, followed quickly by a fission of fear.

No.

No, please. God, don't let this happen.

Please, no.

Tears stung Josh's eyes. The three of them together... in the morning. He needed his family so bad.

Aidan's arms tightened around him, holding him, comforting him. More spasms ran through him, tore through him. Josh screamed into Aidan's shoulder. He held on to Aidan as long as he could, until his fingernails started to change into claws.

Both men sat up. Aidan took Josh's face in his hands, looking him in the eyes.

"Josh, I want you to listen to me. If I'm not here in the morning, it's my own fault. If I don't make it, it's because I did something wrong. You got that?" Aidan's thumbs stroked Josh's cheeks as his own eyes brimmed with tears. Aidan's heart was bleeding for his friend. Even in the longest of lives, it was the good-byes that hurt the most. "I love you, Josh."

Josh felt helplessness and fear overtake him; the panic of losing control of his body to alchemy so old, no one really believed it was real anymore.

"Don't you leave me, A-" and the rest was swallowed in visceral screaming, Josh's voice box was changing into something inhuman.

Aidan was up and away, to stand at the far side of the cage, averting his gaze into a dark corner. The screaming was inconsequential now, Josh was just leaving.

Aidan closed his eyes.

Breathe.

In through the nose, out through the mouth.

Relax.

Aidan's hand lightly grasped a vertical bar under the crossbeam, and used it to steady himself as he dropped to his knees.

In through the nose, out through the mouth.

He sat back on to his heels, placing his forearms on the ground, and dropping his head.

In through the nose, out through the mouth.

The screaming stopped.

Josh was gone.

A wolf and a vampire... alone in a cage.

Aidan stopped breathing, and opened his eyes.

It's show time.


	3. RoRChapter02

"Ha-Ha! Well now, we call this the act of mating!  
But there are several other very important differences  
Between human beings and animals that you should know about."  
- Bad Touch, Hooray for Boobies. Bloodhound Gang.

Reciprocity of Ratiocination.

Chapter 2: This cage match can't end in a tie!

Josh wasn't the only person in the house who watched NOVA. Aidan quickly called in to his mind a list of rules as the wolf roared into existence behind him.

Rule one... Never hug a wolf. Now, this may seem self evident, but stick with me. Real wolves have thick coats of fur that would remind the more optimistic people of plushy stuffed animals. Even the more realistic among the human race looks at all that fur and wonders what it would be like to crush that softness to their bodies and bury their fingers into that welcoming-looking fluff. Humans and primates embrace one another to show affection, support and empathy. Canines do not. To a wolf, an embrace is a signal that a challenge for dominance is being issued. Just. Don't. Do it.

The wolf turned around, surveying the cage. A low growl issued from the beast that Aidan could only surmise was meant for him.

Rule number two. The idea that any eye contact will result in a fight is bullshit. Eye contact is very important to wolf communication, but it must be used properly.

Aidan crouched his head low, and peered around his upper arm in to the eyes of the snarling animal facing him.

Rule number three: speak his language. Wolves communicate primarily with body language, which includes not only body posture, facial expression, and breathing, but also urination, and ear and tail positioning. It had been a stressful day at work worrying about Bishop and how he could protect Josh from Bishop; he hadn't wanted the extra caffeine from the coffee, let alone worrying about just drinking for appearance's sake. He hadn't had any liquids since his mug of blood for breakfast, so not only did Aidan not have a tail; he also had nothing in his bladder that could be of any use.

His face was carefully composed to shoot the wolf a look of sincerely concerned inquisitiveness, as if he were just checking to see if the wolf were okay and didn't have any pressing needs. He held the eye contact for a measured three count, then as he turned away he brought his head back up to smartly assess the walls, like he was looking for the danger that had so riled the wolf. Finding no boogie men crawling out of the old safety deposit boxes, he adopted a panting pattern that would telegraph to the wolf that he was relaxed, posed no threat, and was staying alert for any danger to their little pack.

Rule number four. The wolf is the boss. He is the alpha. Any challenger for the top spot had better best him in a fight, because werewolves don't mess around. They have only one day a month to protect their territory. Right now, the wolf was inarguably stronger than him. He had seen enough drunken vampires hop into the fighting arenas with cries of "I bet I can take him…" Only to see the fools ripped to pieces every time. An impressive display might work, heavy on the might, but that would require props, and they were tossed in here without so much as a shred of clothing.

The wolf stopped growling, but Aidan could sense it watching him, assessing. The wolf took a few steps to its right keeping the same distance between it and the vampire, its movements slow and cautious, ready to leap forward and tear Aidan asunder should he make a wrong move. The wolf turned and paced back to the left, crossing the cage and sniffing at the bars. It tried to squeeze through them, and when that didn't work, it bit ineffectually at the metal. After the bars had been investigated, the wolf moved on the concrete ground. Aidan tracked its progress. The wolf was taking particular interest in the spots he and Josh had been. The wolf took his time as it licked up Josh's blood, getting as much as it could, and then sniffed its way to the spot where Aidan's ejaculate had landed during his second orgasm. This fluid, too, it cleaned from the floor.

Seeing nothing else of interest on the concrete, the wolf turned his investigation onto himself. Sniffing and licking at its forelegs, its chest, it moved down its body, tasting. Aidan moved his head to the side and back to ease a crick in his neck, prompting the wolf to whip its head up to face the vampire, freezing in place and dispensing another menacing growl. Aidan lowered his body as much as he could, and answered with a short, high pitched sort of warbling whine. He cursed his lack of articulated ears and he looked around as if nervous about their surroundings, watching the walls for signs of danger. The wolf continued to watch him closely for a long, torturous moment, then relaxed enough to continue searching its own body. More sniffing and licking sounds as the animal cleaned itself.

But this reprieve was too good to last. Aidan could feel the wolf's full attention settle on his skin. The wolf was tense and cautious as it approached him slowly. It would take a couple of steps towards him, sniff, pause to size up whatever information that nose full of aroma had imparted, then take a couple steps closer and repeat. The cage wasn't that big. It didn't take long at all for the wolf to get within striking distance. Ready to bolt, it continued to investigate the crouching humanoid. The vampire held still. Even if he posed no threat, he offered no thrill of the chase. If the wolf had a mind to kill him, there was nothing he could do.

When the wolf's nose touched his side he glanced back to acknowledge him, then looked away again. Aidan drew his body up but kept his head low; submitting himself for the wolf's inspection. He tried to remain outwardly calm, but inside his mind he was screaming: IMAGINE THE TWO OF US WALKING INTO THE HOUSE TOMORROW? I COULDN'T HAVE SAID: IMAGINE THE WOLF CALM AND PERFECTLY AT EASE, COMPLETELY IGNORING MY PRESENCE HERE? AND I THINK OF THIS NOW? He tried to clear his head. What was done was done. There was no telling how exactly the wolf would have obeyed Josh's visualizations, if at all. The positive visualizations had worked in so far as it kept his friend calm in those last moments. And right now, he had to remember that tomorrow morning this wild animal was going to turn back into his mild-mannered, passive-aggressive friend. When the first blows came, he had to do his best to not fight back, let the wolf have at him, and just let it be over quickly. Any self-defense wounds the wolf sustained could kill his friend if the wolf bled out, or if Josh was left here tomorrow to go into shock. Josh was the one who deserved to make it out of here in the morning. Sally was right: Josh was the only one of them that mattered because he was still alive.

Aidan couldn't suppress a shudder as the wolf exhaled forcefully to clear his nose. He was shaking now. Bad. The wolf snuffled into his hair, sniffed at his shoulder and down his arm. A cold, wet nose traced a path along his trembling body, along the side of his chest, his stomach, the wolf moving closer to check him out, taking particular interest in his softened penis, sniffing and licking at it before clearing his nose again (blowing a fine spray of wolf-snot over his genitalia and upper thigh in the process) to sniff across the vampire's hip and down his outer thigh. He couldn't suppress a startled jump when the wolf moved behind him and goosed him, investigating the scent of Josh's semen, no doubt, and licking at him there, too.

He hadn't lied to Josh when he had told him this was their only option. It was possible for werewolf males that lived together to transform together and run in the same pack. But lacking the option to hunt, the males would pass their time in play. For wolves, playing meant practicing moves for an alpha fight. Marcus had gotten into real trouble with Bishop once when he snatched werewolves from neighboring towns, and the wolves turned out to be brothers. Much to the irritation of the vampires who had already placed their bets, the two wolves had pleasantly greeted each other, and they had spent the night capering around together, having a grand old time. If he gotten far enough to get Josh's wolf to accept him as a pack brother, it would be all fun and games until the wolf drew blood and realized he could win a real alpha fight with him; Then the fight would turn real. So that was no good.

The camera LEDs continued to shine out in the gloom. This was humiliating. Was Bishop watching right now? Probably. Was he recording this? Aidan thought this also was very likely. He would want to show the vampire world proof that he would kill his own beloved child to facilitate his plan to start a war with the humans. He could just see it, vampires watching this video together, passing back and forth a bowl of blood-soaked popcorn just for the festivity of the thing, and one crassly shouting out at this point to the others, "Everyone watch this! Watch this! This is where he gets his fooking head ripped off!"

The wolf's nose moved to his tailbone, and up along his spine. The vampire gasped when he felt one of the wolf's paws on the small of his back. He tipped his pelvis forward and arched his back, shifting his weight and center of gravity down more towards his hips to help him carry the wolf's weight on top of him. The vampire also quickly readjusted his legs to press his knees together, trying to avoid letting the wolves back claws accidentally rip through his calves. The wolf's nose ghosted over his back, taking a particular interest in the fresh scratches between his shoulder blades. It worried Aidan. The wolf could decide that since his skin was already broken, he was prey. Wolves never hesitated to eat vampires, nor were they known to turn down an easy meal. The wolf licked at the dried blood, sniffed, licked and sniffed again, closely scrutinizing every inch of the wound. Aidan was starting to wish the wolf had just jumped him and it had been over quickly. This was excruciating.

The wolf drew back to sniff at Aidan's bottom again. But now, Aidan had his tailbone tucked, and he was no longer in the correct posture to be easily examined there. He decided against changing his position back at this point, for fear that a single movement from him now would invite the wolf to catch him in its teeth, and from there its instinct would take over. He held himself perfectly still, waiting.

The wolf's weight fell on him again, the canine's chest this time, and the paws scrabbled at his sides before finding traction flat on his back, and he felt the wolf as it pushed inside of him, mounted him and immediately began to thrust, setting a quick pace. A relieved laugh was shocked out of him, even as his body tensed up and swayed forward in an instinctive reaction to the sudden onslaught. He couldn't believe this had actually worked! All of a canines thrusting power in mating came from their powerful spinal cord. They didn't plant their back feet, they kinda stood on their tippy toes for balance, so their back legs would end up doing a little happy sex dance. Aidan could hear those back nails clicking on the concrete. He hung his head to rest against one of his upper arms. "Good boy, Josh!" He told the wolf. "Good boy!" He was... well... halfway to actually surviving this!

He could feel the wolf's paws on his sides, the nails digging into his skin for traction as it struggled to maintain its grip. His humanoid body was the wrong shape, wolves usually clasp the sides of the female with their forelegs as they mate, but Aidan's body was broader than it was deep, and his hips were a little too high, so the wolf had to improvise. Although Aidan was being quiet and cooperative, the wolf was still finding it awkward to thrust and hold on, so its claws were dragging downwards, scratching him and drawing blood. It was leaning heavily on him, at least that was correct, and it was making short little grunts as it thrust, oddly reminiscent of the longer growls Josh was making earlier.

Another SNAFU of Marcus' had been to capture a married couple for the fights. Marcus had smugly taken it in stride that he was just that lucky, easily netting two werewolves in one place! They transformed, and the male had padded around the female, protecting her. When the male felt secure that they would not be disturbed, he mounted his erstwhile wife and mated with glee. The disgusted vampires had walked out then, Aidan and Marcus by Bishop's side. (It was then that Marcus was told to take weres only from different cities to prevent this, which is how they ended up with the brothers later.) What Aidan wouldn't give now, to have stayed to the finish back then? Not everything about normal, run-of-the-mill canines translated over to werewolves. Werewolves were a different breed altogether. But he strongly suspected this one would turn out to be true; that there really was a monster at the end of this book. Right now, his life was hinged on what his maker never told him, and his werewolf wouldn't know.

When he and Josh were getting to know one another and getting acquainted with each other's history, Josh had told Aidan that he had not had sex since he was first turned. Aidan had no reason to doubt this, he sensed absolutely no duplicity in Josh that would have tipped him off that Josh was aware or suspected that his alter ego was doing some mating when it got the opportunity. Aidan had worked hard not to betray the twinge of nerves that twanged deep inside of his chest when Josh had casually mentioned pregnancy. With Nora's recent announcement, of course the risks of conception would be a flashing neon sign in Josh's mind. But it made Aidan nervous to hear Josh put him and pregnancy together in the same sentence. He couldn't tell Josh what it was that really scared him:

A coital tie.

When nearing the end of a canine mating, the "knot", a gland near the base of the male's penis will swell whilst he is inside the female's body, preventing him from immediately withdrawing. When copulating canines are in this position, they are said to be "tied" together. A coital tie will block any rivals as it holds the male's penis in place to deposit sperm against the female's cervix in stages over the span of several minutes. The female may not conceive without it, since the males will ejaculate seminal fluid continuously when they are erect, but the sperm could be released in a later stage. Watching documentaries on wolves, and seeing dogs mate in the streets for a couple centuries have taught Aidan one thing: an inexperienced male doesn't always react positively to finding himself stuck. If he was a werewolf female, it wouldn't matter... the wolf could freak out all it wanted to, and Aidan would be tough enough to take it. But he wasn't. He was just a vampire weakling, here. His biggest fear from the get-go, after being killed immediately of course, was that the wolf was going to freak out and rip his body in half to get its dick back. He fervently hoped that after two hundred and fifty-seven years, it wasn't his fate to die in this cage tonight because he was stupid enough to get caught in a dog-knot with a werewolf.

Because of its trouble hanging on to Aidan, the wolf would find a good position, thrust frantically until it slipped out of alignment enough to fall out of Aidan's body, and then it would have to readjust and begin again. Right in the middle of a readjustment, the wolf reached its climax, thrusting against its partner, but unable to fully get back inside of him. Much to Aidan's relief, the wolf backed off; licking at the place they had been joined. When the wolf turned its attention to itself, Aidan allowed his body to collapse over onto his left side, heaving a tremendous sigh. It felt so good to be off of his knees on that hard concrete. The wolf wasn't exactly a lightweight!

The vampire looked back at the wolf to find it licking at itself, its penis looking as if it had sprouted a solid, heavy second scrotum around the underside of the penile shaft near its body. Supernatural physiology doesn't do anything half way! The gland was easily larger than Aidan's fist, and Aidan's hands aren't petite. Even with his remarkable vampiric healing ability and tolerance to pain, getting tied to this wolf would not be an easily remedied situation. Aidan had guessed right. In breeding circles, this was called an outside tie. A breed fail. Thank goodness!

For the next few minutes, the wolf was busied cleaning itself of the ongoing ejaculate, then it was back to check out Aidan. The wolf licked at the scratches down his sides, cleaning up the blood. It licked its own seminal fluid off of his inner thigh, and sniffed him in random places before clearing its nose and noisily treating the vampire to another fine spray of werewolf snot. Laying down on its side behind Aidan and leaning its back comfortably against Aidan's, the wolf took up watching the walls and panting as Aidan had been doing earlier.

Now that the evening had reached a natural lull in activity, Aidan couldn't help but marvel at his situation. He had just gone further than he had ever heard of a vampire surviving with a werewolf. This was big. Epic. Not that he was going to tell anyone… But still, he was alive! Wow! Then the reality of the fact he not yet gotten all the way through the first hour of the night settled in. This was gonna be a looooong night!

Aidan rubbed the top of his head against the wolf's neck a couple of times, which he hoped the wolf would interpret as being something close to "hey, thanks for not killing me… We're okay, right?" He propped himself up on his elbows, leaving his lower body where it was, and mirrored the wolf. After a few minutes the wolf got up to sniff around the enclosure. When that got old it began to pace around aimlessly.

Either it would catch a whiff of one of the men, or just randomly get angry at being caged; Aidan couldn't be sure which, but every once in a while the wolf would give a growl. A couple of times it put its forepaws on the crossbars, throwing his weight forward, seeing if it could rock the enclosure, or knock down the side of the cage. Unfortunately, it never happened to try this move on the cage door. It's okay... It most likely wouldn't have worked anyway. Understanding of the hopelessness of the situation must have penetrated the poor creature's mind: it urinated on random bars on all four sides of their cage to mark its territory for the night.

Aidan hoped to get time to pass faster by employing the oldest gambit in male avoidance: feigning sleep. He crawled into the center of the cage; staying low, curled up as well as he could, heaved a bored sigh, and closed his eyes. He tracked the wolf by sound, the clicking of those sharp, thick claws on concrete. It wasn't long until the wolf worked his way back to Aidan. The vampire was laying on his right side now, which exposed the scratches the wolf hadn't cleaned earlier. The wolf licked at them now, lying sphinx-style on its stomach. Aidan allowed it, he had seen werewolves sail right through even the dirtiest fights with vampires where the vampire had scratched and bitten any part of the beast they could reach before succumbing. Aidan had even seen wolves consume large chunks of the vampire before the vamp dusted out, with no ill effects. If anything, it was a good sign. Wolves did this in the wild. They cleaned the wounds of their pack mates to prevent infection. Most likely the wolf didn't even realize it was the one causing Aidan's injuries. Aidan knew he wasn't being the most entertaining company, but was clueless as to how to remedy that situation. Playing it safe was the only sensible course of action.

From the scratches, the werewolf explored Aidan's body as it had before, ghosting its nose over random places. The wolf got up so he could have better access. Aidan stayed still, allowing it. The wolf worked its way around: sniffing, clearing its nose, and licking at the more interesting spots. The wolf stopped directly behind Aidan, and when Aidan looked at it, the wolf seemed to be looking at Aidan as if he were a puzzle, a calculating look in its eyes. With its front paw, it swiped at Aidan's hip, pulling him up and back onto his knees. Now it had Aidan right where it wanted him! Aidan drew his body up and braced himself as it quickly mounted him, thrusting. Aidan felt himself lean forward slightly as he had before, a subconscious shying away. Deep down, this thing still scared him. It had the same trouble staying mounted as before, grasping Aidan's shoulders with its paws and pulling downward for traction. This worked to deepen the scratches already there, and create new ones. The smell of fresh blood hit Aidan's nose. He could feel the blood tickling as it welled up and formed droplets. The wolf was single-mindedly focused on its current activity, trying to get deeper, faster. The wolf was doing better this time, not slipping out and readjusting as much as it had to the time before. Aidan closed his eyes, trying to focus on the sensation of the wolf inside of him. When he thought he felt the base of the wolf's penis getting larger, he lurched forward, pushing out with his muscles. Forced out, the wolf tried to remount him, but Aidan tipped his hips to the side, foiling the poor wolf. He felt the seminal fluid as it spurt against his buttock and ran down his leg. The wolf dismounted, smelling and licking at the fluid, and attentively cleaning the place they had been connected a moment before. Aidan felt kinda like a heel playing hard to get, but it really was for the best.

Aidan submissively stayed up on his knees as the wolf cleaned his wounds, licking the blood off his sides. Sooner or later, Aidan was thinking, they were going to have to get out of here. They had no way of knowing what that was going to entail. Someone to eat on their way out would really be too much to hope for. He couldn't keep letting the wolf bleed him like this. It was not all that much blood, really. But to a vampire trying to stay clean, every drop mattered. Some of the scratches had been deepened significantly, and since he was off the live stuff, he would need to drink a good amount of blood before they would be healed. He couldn't risk drinking from the wolf. He might go from mate to enemy in the wolf's mind; after all he had been through tonight he could still end up dead. Not an option.

As the wolf tended to him, it came across a jagged piece of ripped skin at the crux of two deep scratches. When the wolf attempted to dislodge it with its teeth, Aidan turned on him with a loud reprimanding bark. Aidan felt a flash of fear burn through him as the wolf reared backwards a little, fully alert. Quick with an apology, the vampire whined, staying low, licking the side of the wolf's head and rubbing the top of his head against the wolf's neck.

Apology accepted, the wolf gave his face a couple of quick, sloppy licks and flopped down alongside him with its back to him as it had before, panting. Carefully, Aidan curled his legs to the side, resting his head on his hand to stay lower than the wolf, his body facing the creature. "Hey there, buddy. How're ya doin'?" he whispered as he slowly brought one hand up to touch the wolf's mane. The wolf didn't respond. Aidan moved his hand to the top of where the hair started, and feeling the coarse hairs under his fingers as he pet the wolf. He moved his hands down the wolf's body, the skin feeling rough and thick compared to the silky feel of Josh's skin. Scant wiry hairs poked out of the wolf's hide. Real wolves have a thick undercoat of fur that protects them from the winter snow and rain. The wolf felt very warm to his touch. Its metabolism must be higher in this form, to protect the werewolf from the elements. But what about when they changed back? How many werewolves died of exposure, Aidan wondered.

The wolf heaved a bored sigh and flopped its head down flat on the ground, prompting Aidan to immediately drop his head on to his arm. He brought his hand up and pet the wolf again, slowly. Amazing. This was simply amazing. Vampires had a long history with werewolves. But he had never heard of anyone, human or vampire, who had gotten close enough with a werewolf to do this. Granted, vampires didn't aspire to befriend werewolves. They thought of them as a lower form of life; which was downright racist, really. Wasn't this the ultimate proof that their kinds could get along?

The wolf writhed its body, turning over slightly onto its back. Aidan continued the petting, still slow and careful, using only one hand so the wolf felt safe from being grabbed. When his hand passed over the wolf's tummy, the back paw that was in the air wiggled. Aidan chuckled, and rubbed at that spot. The foot wiggled more. When Aidan stopped, the wolf looked back at him over its shoulder, the back of its head resting on the ground and its nose in the air. Aidan smiled at him affectionately, showing no teeth. The wolf gazed at him for a long moment, and then sneezed on Aidan's face. Losing interest in the vampire, the wolf laid down flat again. Aidan wiped the wolf spray off of his face with his free hand. "That's gross, Josh, thanks," he said flatly, patting the wolf's side before removing his hand. The wolf's boney tail wagged a little.

Aidan turned to lie on his other side, pressing his back against the wolf's. Time passed in companionable silence.

Eventually the wolf got up to pace again, a sad expression on its face. (Aidan felt bad that his mind provided the description "hang dog.") It scratched futilely at the bars, as if asking to go out. Had it borrowed this gesture from Josh's mind, having exhausted all its own ideas for an escape route? Aidan felt for the poor little creature. "Yeah, I want out, too," he told the wolf sincerely. He was rewarded with the wolf's return to lick at his face. The vampire was still curled up on his side, and the wolf nosed at his ribs on the side lying on the concrete, urging him to get up. Aidan rolled up on to his knees again. The wolf continued to lick Aidan affectionately, then licked a few times at the scratches, checking him over.

As the wolf lined itself up behind Aidan, he couldn't help but murmur a quiet, "oh, Josh, really?" He quietly spit in to his hand, being sure there was a least a little bit of fresh moisture on the part on his body the wolf wanted. He went over the logistics in his mind. Let's see... he was too tall… maybe. In his mind's eye, he envisioned mating dogs. Knowing that canines have an actual bone in their penis, they have to enter their partner at the most natural position, which would be around seventy to eighty degrees. Aidan was arching his back, which was tipping his pelvis forward, and making his entry more of a one hundred thirty to one hundred forty degree upward angle. He was forcing the wolf to get up underneath him to mount him and that didn't leave the wolf enough room to balance on top of him as he would a normal partner. Then there was the fact that Aidan was moving forward when the wolf mounted him. That put the back of Aidan's thighs in the way and didn't leave the wolf a lot of room to maneuver when it was thrusting; which is why it was up on its front paws on Aidan's back. It was AIDAN that was in the wrong position! It looked like his plan to not get his legs trodden on wasn't such a brilliant move, he had gotten his back shredded instead. But how could he change the position and still be able to escape the knot? Try to get the wolf to stand up on his own over him.

The vampire spread his legs wide enough to give the wolf (what he hoped) was enough room, bringing his hips lower, and dropped his upper body to the ground. For the third time that night, (or maybe four, did that first time with Josh count?) the wolf mounted him, but instead of placing its front paws on the ground as Aidan had hoped, it pushed its claws in to Aidan's thighs. Aidan held his ground, and fought the urge to pull away. The claws were still painful, but at least this time he wouldn't be getting more scratches. Thrusting was shallow; the wolf was pinioned tight to him, buried to the hilt inside of Aidan. The wolf had a better grip and better leverage this time. It would be difficult to tell when it was coming to its climax. Aidan closed his eyes again, concentrating on the feeling of the wolf inside of him. Since the vampire's hips were lower, the wolf was able to achieve a more vertical movement, which made the circumference harder to gauge.

In his mind, Aidan was formulating his plan... when he thought the wolf was about to knot him, he would lunge forward just as he had done before, expelling the wolf, and forcing it into another outside tie. When he thought the moment had arrived, and jumped forward as he had planned, he unfortunately realized two things. One, it was already too late, and two, the wolf had too good a hold on him for the jump to work anyway. He felt a flash of panic, heard himself gasp and whisper frantically "Josh, no!" He could feel the wolf's glands growing larger inside of him. Aidan realized his own panicking will only make the wolf's reaction more extreme. He forced himself to calm down. "Easy, boy," he cooed to the wolf. "Easy, now, Josh... Be a good boy, now."

Completely ambivalent to Aidan's turmoil, (or supposed calm,) the wolf placidly placed one forepaw on the vampire's back (prompting a muted "OW!" from said vampire) got both of its front paws on the ground to one side of Aidan's body, and completed the move by hoisting one back leg over its mate, so it was standing facing away from Aidan, but its penis still firmly fastened inside of him. The werewolf and the vampire were now stuck... in a coital tie. Aidan was sure Marcus was kicking himself for being dead and missing out on this moment. THIS would have made Marcus' LIFE! He could hear his sibling/nemesis' voice in his head: "Bishop would be so proud!" The mocking voice in Aidan's mind added a few barks for good measure before the vampire forced it into silence.

Aidan looked back at the wolf, who was simply standing and panting. "So I guess I am pretty enough to have your babies after all," he murmured at the wolf. The wolf turned to him with the most sappy, ridiculously pleased look on its face; so excited with itself to have finally gotten it right. The vampire couldn't help but laugh; quickly biting his lips together to be sure he didn't show his teeth to the wolf. The last thing he needed right now was the wolf to mistake a smile for a threatening snarl. But his caution couldn't suppress the relief coursing through him. He shook his head. Monster at the end of the book, indeed! He worked hard to quell the urge to push out against the wolf's shaft swollen inside of him. It was important to remember trying to break a tie could cause harm to both of them. Turns out that tonight he was the one that was the inexperienced male! Seeing the truth of this, Aidan couldn't help but feel a little chagrinned. He was grateful his fears had come to naught, but he was still going to be stuck here for quite a while. He stacked one curled fist on top of the other, and used his hands as a pedestal on which to rest his chin. He shifted gently, seeking to make himself more comfortable on the concrete.

Every few minutes, his partner ventured to uncouple them, attempting to pull away lightly. It would feel the resistance, and abandon the attempt, resuming its patient waiting. At last, when it had successfully made them two again, the vampire laid on the ground, extending his legs and groaning with great relief as he rubbed at his knees. Being in a cramped position for hours on end felt more confining than the cage or the vault. After everything they had been through, Aidan felt it would still be risky to stand at his full height. It would really suck to blow it now!

Restlessness pushed the wolf to walk. It skimmed along the bars at a moderate pace, turning randomly, meandering. They were safe here with each other for now... But Aidan wanted to be rested in the morning. There was no telling what surprises were waiting for them when the sun came up. They had to be ready for anything; from a swarm of Ninjas to the cage simply not unlocking. Aidan abandoned himself to sleep, listening to the clicking, clacking claws on the concrete... clueless. The wolf would protect him as he slept.

He hoped.

Aidan was entirely unaware he had managed to get to sleep until the moment he was wrenched back to the real nightmare by a blood curdling scream coming from right beside him. The vampire was scrambling and skittering backwards on all fours away before he could fully assess the situation. They were still alone. The wolf's body was hunched tight in seizure. It screamed again. The transformation back was upon it, and these were no first pangs. Aidan realized he had to have been pretty deeply asleep to miss half of the transformation process from werewolf to human. He wasn't sure which one of them had it worse: the human, who knew what was happening or the wolf, who didn't understand why it was suddenly suffering. It was excruciatingly painful for both of them. His nose burned suddenly, and he realized he had backed right into one of the bars the wolf had claimed earlier as its territory.

Aidan moved away from the dried but still pungent urine and waited for Josh to come back. The wait wasn't long… Josh came back sleeping deeper than Aidan had been; He was dead to the world and would be for a while. It was up to Aidan to protect him and get him out of here somehow.

Aidan scooped up Josh's body and moved him closer to the cage door, making sure his friend was comfortable and laying in the recovery position. Aidan stood up, glad to finally have the freedom to be up off of the floor. He put one hand on the bar on the door, and one on a cage bar. He didn't know how long the door would unlock. (If it DID unlock!) It would be just like Bishop to program the door to unlock for only a few seconds, so the person locked inside would have a whole day to curse themselves for their foolishness in not leaping out immediately.

Just as promised, the lock bolt retracted, and Aidan immediately jerked the cage door open. There was no device attached to it that could close the door once opened, but this guy was taking no chances. He left the door as wide as it could go, picked up Josh, and repositioned him outside the cage and near the vault door.

Aidan employed the same plan with this door, grasping the large handle and waiting for it to open.

The long minutes spun thin, stretching to feel like hours. He Wanted OUT! Finally, their world was filled up with a vibrating hum that ended with a clang. With his back against the vault door, Aidan planted his feet and pushed the vault open as fast as he could. The door swung open easier than he imagined, after all, it was meant to be opened by humans. He righted himself quickly and scrabbled in into the doorway, assessing the outside world.

No one raced forward to challenge him. Aidan closed his eyes for a moment, listening. The only heartbeat he could hear was Josh's. There could be forty vampires hiding behind other doors in this hallway. He could detect no breathing or shuffling of feet.

The vampire was in the grip of a dilemma. Should he leave Josh here and look for any danger that lie ahead of them, or keep Josh with him to protect the completely defenseless werewolf?

He couldn't leave Josh behind, Aidan decided, and once again picked up the younger man. Aidan slung Josh's body over his shoulder this time, so his hands would be free.

Slowly, still listening for any others, the vampire carried his friend into the hallway. There was a slight echo in here, so every breath of Josh's and movement of Aidan's might cover Aidan's only warning that trouble was coming. Aidan moved off to the left, where there was a promising shaft of natural light.

As it turns out, the light was coming down a flight of stairs. On the second step up, was their clothing. Two piles neatly folded; Set up specially to deliver a stab of guilt to the expected single survivor, no doubt. Josh's pile had his necklace and a bottle of water lying on the top. Aidan still heard no one. Again Aidan debated with himself. Stop and get dressed, or make a run for it? If they escaped this building, getting away would be easier if they were dressed. Quickly as he could, the vampire laid his friend down flat on the ground and dressed himself. Nothing was missing from his pockets. His wallet and keys resided in the same pockets in which he habitually kept them.

Now, how much of Josh's clothing did Josh really need? Should he skip a couple of things to save time? No, he decided. He had no idea what the situation would be when Josh woke up, and Josh wouldn't need the distraction or irritant of not being properly dressed. Furtive and hurried, Aidan dressed Josh completely. Socks, underwear, shoes… Aidan thought about pocketing the necklace, but then thought better of it. They weren't out of here yet. Despite the fact Aidan usually hung on to the necklace when Josh turned, if Aidan got killed, Josh would never get it back. It was safer for Josh to wear it. Aidan fastened it around Josh's neck, and dropped the Star of David underneath the collar of Josh's shirt. He knew Josh would wake up dehydrated, but Aidan didn't trust that bottle of water. What if it was another trap? It could have dysentery floating in it!

Swinging his friend's inert but dressed body into a fireman's carry, Aidan ascended the staircase. Sunlight streamed through the large windows. Still, no figures stepped forward to challenge them. Aidan made his way from behind the large granite teller's counter. The front doors were locked closed, but the key was in the lock. It took some experimentation to get the lock to disengage, three full revolutions to the right did the job and they were free. Aidan was careful not to bang Josh's head with the jamb or the door as he moved them both through, taking the key and locking the doors from the outside. He wanted to keep the option of checking out the place later. He might not get Bishop, but he could check for clues to where Bishop was hiding out these days, and see if there was any recording equipment.

Outside, the parking lot was empty except for a single car: Aidan's. Now that they were outside, he recognized the old bank. They were a couple of towns over from Boston. Too far away to walk home. Anxiously, Aidan assessed his car. If this were a story he were reading, this would be the part where the car is rigged with a bomb that will detonate when the starter sparks. He considers putting Josh down at a safe distance away from the car so the car bomb would only get one of them. An ominous fear crept into Aidan's mind then, that if he left Josh behind to safely start the car, he would be giving someone the perfect opportunity to shoot Josh in the head with a sniper rifle.

The vampire's eyes darted around, searching for shooters. He could smell the scent of people nearby. The foliage around the parking lot was overgrown, there could be anyone hiding on the other side downwind from him. A car passed down the street. They were too exposed here. Aidan went with a plan that would satisfy both of his fears: he unlocked the passenger's door, strapped Josh in to the seat, and then checked under his car for explosives. Finding none, he unlocked the driver's side door and popped the hood. Everything seemed to be in working order. It was time to go.

Miracles of miracles, the car started no problem. There was even a full tank of gas! Tentatively, Aidan accelerated and then stopped the car to check the braking system. "Okay, Josh!" He said to his sleeping roommate, "Let's go home!"

He wasn't in the mood for music; the trip would be a quiet one.


	4. RoRChapter03

"But would I be a good Messiah with my low self-esteem?  
If I don't believe in myself, would that be blasphemy?  
Just sport some crummy "holier than thou" facade...  
Yeah, that's what I would do if I were God!"  
- Hell Yeah, Hooray for Boobies. The Bloodhound Gang.

Reciprocity of Ratiocination.

Chapter 3. I'm a bad dream that I just had today.

About five minutes from home, a particularly wide dip in the road pulled Josh in to semiconsciousness. He pushed at the edges of his awareness, gathering information about his surroundings. He was moving… no… being moved. He could feel the shocks of the car reacting to the slightly uneven terrain. There was no one talking. He had never woken up in a moving car after a transformation before. The events of the last night came flooding into his mind. He was suddenly engulfed in a wave of fear and sadness. Aidan was dead. Bishop had him, he knew it. It was the only thing that made sense. He didn't want to go any further. He didn't want to have to face living with Aidan's death. If he could cease to exist by will, now would be the time he would do it. The road dipped again. Whatever new hell was waiting for him, he had no other option but to confront it. Josh inhaled deeply, bracing himself. Without moving his head, he opened his eyes.

He saw familiar territory passing by him outside his window, glimmering wet from an overnight rain in the early morning light. When he recognized the inside of Aidan's car, a new emotion pulled at his heart: hope. He wanted Aidan to be alive so bad! But this was probably the spoils of war, Josh chided himself. Aidan didn't have his car when they were taken last night. Josh's hope and lungs deflated. Bishop was driving Aidan's car to rub his nose in it. He closed his eyes and took another deep breath in to bolster himself. But just under the scent of fresh, clean air being piped through from the outside by the heater was the comfortingly familiar smell of Aidan's car. A bolt of pain lanced through his chest. Would he ever find memories of Aidan comforting again? There was no strength in him. He felt utterly defeated.

He looked over to face Bishop… and saw Aidan there. The young man's mouth dropped open in shock and his breath rushed out in a huff. A breathless, disbelieving laugh escaped him next.

The vampire looked at him. "Hey sleepyhead! It's about time you woke up!"

"You did it!" Josh marveled.

"Of course! Somebody had to give you a ride home!" Aidan gave him a dazzling smile and a playful push to the werewolf's shoulder.

"How did you get us out of there?"

The vampire shrugged. "Walked out!"

Josh's expression clearly communicated that it was his opinion that Aidan was talking crazy talk.

"Really!" Aidan insisted. "I guess they all had something better to do this morning than worry about us!"

"But it's not over." Josh guessed flatly.

Aidan's demeanor darkened. "No. It needs to be settled, but it won't be today." Seeing the worry seeping in to his friend's countenance, Aidan added, "Because today, we are gonna go home, we're gonna get some sleep, and then we are gonna get up and go to work like normal people!"

Reluctant amusement played over Josh's face.

"We're gonna be okay, Josh!" Aidan assured him. "If we can get through what we just got through, we can get through pretty much anything!"

"Well, let's never do THAT again!" The werewolf suggested.

"Yeah," Aidan heartily agreed while backing into the alley next to their home. "Been there, done that!"

Aidan cut the engine and looked over at Josh. "Remember what I told you about compelling, Josh. You might get residual thoughts and feelings coming up in your mind. It's just the programming trying to reassert itself. Don't fight it, don't refute it, and don't push it down. Just... take note of it, and give it room. Just keep an eye on it, okay?"

Josh nodded. "I can do that."

The vampire looked reassured and relieved.

When Josh got out of the car, he realized how strange his clothing felt on his body. It was like the clothes were twisted and bunched in odd ways. The socks were up too tight. The arms of his jacket were pulling up his shirt sleeves. The actual twist of his underwear was most likely very slight, but to Josh it felt like his underwear was on almost sideways. He realized that Aidan must have dressed him before carrying him out. An oddly random thought crossed Josh's mind: This was the first time in over twenty years that a man about ten times Josh's age had put his clothes on for him.

Aidan led Josh up the black spiral staircase that lead to the back door in their laundry room. There was a window in the door between the laundry room and the kitchen, and he wanted a look at the place before going in. There were humans with Bishop last night, and they had hours to use his keys. They had moved his car... Why not check around his house, too? Maybe set some traps? Not that anyone really needed a key to get in, it was an old house. Breaking in would be easy. He wanted to take a look inside before they made themselves comfortable.

The vampire would have preferred a stealthy approach, but the metal stairs were old and creaky, and the wooden floor in the mud room was warped from too many laundry mishaps over the years. Peering through the old, warbly windows, everything looked okay. Sally coalesced into view in the kitchen, looking back at him through the window and shrugging inquisitively. Well, if Sally looked confused at his behavior, and not upset, then there had been no intruders. It was safe.

As they walked in to the kitchen, Sally started in. "Where have you guys been? Josh, wasn't last night the full moon?"

Josh chose a succinct answer. "It was."

Josh gratefully accepted the bottle of water Aidan handed him from the refrigerator, and immediately set to drinking it. Aidan also took out a bottle of orange juice, fetched a protein bar from the box in the cabinet, and set these out on the table for Josh before sitting down.

Sally said, "So, Aidan, where have you been all night? Anyone we should know about?"

"I was locked in with Josh!" Aidan announced. "Bishop got us."

The ghost's eyes went wide. "Oh my God!"

"Yeah," said Josh, "He locked us up together in a cage that was set up in an old bank vault."

"Wow! So, Aidan, you… let me guess… Spent the entire night clinging upside-down to the top of the cage juuuuuust out of the wolf's reach?"

Both of the men's faces went blank and they looked at each other, pondering if that plan would have actually worked. Simultaneously, they both shook their heads and mouthed the word "nah." The top of the cage hadn't been very high, wolves could jump pretty well, and vampires can't hang on forever. Psychologically, it was much better to surmise that Sally's plan wouldn't have worked than to think they had gone through all that for nothing.

Aidan cleared his throat. "Uh, no. We went in a… different direction." The vampire jumped up to busy himself, grabbing a large pot and popping it in the sink to fill it with water. "Josh, we both have shifts later, and you need more rest. Why don't you take your shower first?"

Josh nodded. He could feel the fatigue from the transformation still pulling at him. Without more sleep, he would feel his energy lagging all day. His eyes lingered on his roommate for a moment, then he glanced at Sally, and sent her a small smile in her direction as he got to his feet a little slower than full speed. Before he transformed, Aidan had told him to imagine the three of them together in the morning, and here they were. When was the last time something in their lives actually worked out the way it was supposed to?

As Josh snagged the breakfast Aidan had set out for him and made his way up the stairs, Aidan transferred the pot from the sink to the stove. He pulled a solid florescent rubber basket from a cupboard, and set it to float in the pot.

"What happened last night?" Sally questioned insistently. "How did you manage to not become wolf chow? I thought werewolves killed vampires!"

"They do, usually," Aidan replied. He grabbed two blood bags from the refrigerator, cut one bag open with the kitchen scissors and poured the contents into the floating basket, flattening the bag and squeezing out as much as he could.

"AND?" Sally prompted again.

Aidan grabbed the second bag, repeating the fastidious draining procedure. "Well, you know what they say," he drawled offhandedly, "make love, not war."

"What does that mean? And why are you double boiling your blood, why not just heat it up in the microwave like you usually do?"

Aidan sighed. "I got a little damaged last night, and I need to heal. I'm already feeling sick, and if I try to heat up this much blood in the microwave, the blood is going to be cold in the middle and cooked around the edges. Uch! I just can't stomach it this morning."

"Damaged how?"

Aidan removed his jacket and took off his shirt, showing Sally the scratches marking his torso.

Sally gasped, her eyes widening as she took in the wounds. "Oh, my god, Aidan! Josh's wolf did this to you?"

"Yep!" Aidan got a spoon to stir the blood.

It wasn't a big leap for Sally's imagination to deduce in what position the wolf had been in relation to Aidan when the marks were made, and what type of motion had interrupted the continuity of the scratches.

"Oh my god!" Sally said again. "So all night Josh's wolf was…"

"Making me his bitch." Aidan confirmed.

Sally's jaw was dropped in disbelief. She took in the damage as a whole. There was a set of scratches that didn't match between Aidan's shoulder blades. "What about these?" she asked, phasing through Aidan slightly with her fingertip to create a cold spot on his back.

"Oh, those were made by Josh... Before he turned."

Sally gasped again. Then she asked excitedly, "You took Josh's man virginity last night?" When the only response given to her was a dismissive glance, she persisted. "What was Josh like in bed?" She leered. "Does he really growl?"

Aidan's eyes shifted to the side as he searched his mind. "Uh, yeah… him and the wolf, both!"

Sally's delighted laughter turned into confusion when Aidan didn't laugh with her.

"Sally, it was one of the most terrifying nights of my life." Sally sat down, raising her eyebrows. "I mean," he amended quickly, "not the… Josh part, well… kinda the Josh part." He trailed off.

Aidan sat down at the table, regarding Sally somberly. "I compelled him, Sally," he confessed. "I had to put him under my will and alter his mind."

Before Sally's facial expression fully changed, Aidan realized the conclusion to which she had jumped.

"No!" He insisted. "I didn't…" His eyes flicked towards the upstairs and he dropped his volume to a whisper. "I didn't… rape Josh. He consented to everything, I swear it."

Her eyes narrowed, calculating whether or not to believe him.

"It was the only way we could think of for both of us to survive the night. We both decided it together. You can ask him yourself."

"Oh, I will!" She quickly assured him. Sally was working hard to come to terms with, and accept responsibility for her role in allowing Danny's abuse of her. Right now there was no way she was going to abide another abusive man in this house. If it turned out that Aidan had forced Josh, she was seriously gonna go Hiroshima on his ass.

Aidan gave her a disapproving look. "Sally, you know I wouldn't hurt Josh. I really don't think I could have made Josh do it against his will and have it work. His wolf is in his subconscious. He had to willingly and completely accept the idea that I was his mate."

"His mate?" She scoffed. "Okay, so… You hypnotize Josh, take his Man Edition V card, then when he turns in to a werewolf, his wolf sees you, and you've got little hearts floating in the air around you?" She paused, mulling it over. "How did you even know that it would work?" She asked skeptically.

"I didn't. I just racked my brain trying to think of everything that would make it more likely to work, and tried them all. I compelled him, and then I just… kept him distracted and busy." He took a deep breath. "What I did last night was very dangerous. I don't like to compel people, so it's not an ability I ever really developed. I tried to do it the safest way I know how, but… with compelling there is always a chance that their minds could break. The last person I tried to compel… self-destructed. He shot himself in the head."

"Did Josh know all this before you compelled him?"

"We talked about the risks. He didn't want his wolf to kill me." Aidan stood up, and put his shirt back on. He tended to his breakfast, stirring it with the spoon. "I was really gentle with him. I mean you know Josh… something like this is way out of his comfort zone. And he did it to save me. It's completely to his credit that it worked. But I need you to help me keep an eye on him. Make sure he isn't having a mental breakdown."

"No offense, but this is Josh we are talking about. How would we know?"

Aidan gave an indulgent smile. "Okay, yeah, he's high strung and quirky. But if he needs our help, we need to be there for him." He turned off the stove's burner. His breakfast was ready.

Upstairs, Josh stood under the hot spray of the shower, busy with the body puff, washing off the scent of the wolf, Aidan, and sex. He was thinking about Aidan, and feeling so incredibly lucky and grateful the two of them had both survived. Aidan wasn't stupid. He knew very well what vampires were like. The way Josh figured it, if a vampire was found out to have grown to care about something other than cruelty and killing, they were punished for it by the others. Punished by having their "weakness" turned against them. Aidan had to have known that shacking up with a werewolf would have consequences, and Aidan had had a plan to beat that inevitability. But it was a plan that his friend hadn't acted upon until he absolutely had to. That they had been provided time together before the transformation to work it out between them seemed miraculous. Was this the way things were usually done, to give the victims as long as possible to fully comprehend and grieve their circumstance, to stew in their fear until their death? Or were he and Aidan just plain lucky? If this was Aidan's plan all along, why not work that out when they moved in together?

Just imagine what that would have sounded like! "Oh, by the way, Josh, someday in the future, chances are very high that the two of us will be locked up together when you... you know... wolf out. So, just to be sure your wolf won't hurt me, I am gonna have to mount you from time to time before a full moon."

Right. Josh pursued this line of thought. Would he have gone along with it, moved in with Aidan if that were the deal? No, he wouldn't have. He hadn't been looking for that kind of relationship with Aidan, and it seemed a bit too far to go just to get a roommate. Taking it one step further, it also meant that Aidan didn't want that kind of relationship with him, either. If he had, he would have tried for it long before now. Yet, Josh loved this man. Loved him because? Josh prompted himself. He loved Aidan because Aidan was dealing with a curse of his own, but not exactly like his own. Just like Josh, he needed someone outside of his own set of problems to know who he was, and what he was going through, and care about him anyway. Needed someone who would give him the freedom to live his own life and make his own decisions, someone with whom to form a supportive emotional connection, without getting strangled by emotional expectations. In short, a best friend. A family formed by choice.

Completing his shower, Josh dried off, put on pajama pants and a t-shirt, closed himself in his bedroom and tumbled into bed. Aidan was an amazing best friend. Josh loved their relationship. He would be damned if he let Bishop take that away from them. Drifting away from that last thought, Josh slipped into a deep sleep.

Later, after Aidan had fed and showered, he laid back into his bed with a sigh.

So this is how it ends.

He thought back over the years, the decades, the centuries he had spent with his maker. Bishop. Bishop had been his whole world for most of his life. If he had it to do again, he would change so many things with Bishop. Like: Not let Bishop pit him against Marcus. Bishop had really gotten off watching his boys compete to please him... A little game where Bishop was always the winner, and he kept his offspring in a subservient position. All these years later, Marcus had still been playing. It was the only thing he had left in the end.

From Aidan's point of view, since Marcus had been made first, Marcus had always been there. Sometimes Aidan felt it was as if they were the proverbial Siamese twins who could never leave each other in peace: two men physically stuck together, who were endlessly brawling with fisticuffs. Sure, there were times that the two of them were living in different cities, either away on business or vacation, but when they came back together, it was as if they had never been apart, so it may as well not count. Marcus had only ever wanted to be respected as an equal, get a little power and influence for himself, to become his own man and not just someone else's lackey. And they used that desire to keep him down. He would occasionally win out over Aidan for Bishop's regard. If he lost every time, he would quit the game. But if he won the rare jackpot of praise and favor from their maker, he would keep playing, and did. And Aidan kept playing as well, because he knew his place, he knew his role, and deep down, he couldn't just roll over and let that insufferable little twit win. Because then, HE would be just the lackey. In life Marcus had been a jealous, petty little man who refused all responsibility and blamed his better brother Silas for the lack of adoration from his family and community. As if by being smarter and braver, Silas had syphoned off all the respect and support to which Marcus was entitled, and therefore was the root cause of any shortcomings in his life. Then Bishop had come along, and soon after, Aidan. And Marcus was still a jealous, petty little man, comfortably blaming Aidan for how he was less favored by Bishop.

They had been so cruel to Marcus over the years. At Sapp and Sons, Marcus' bedroom and Bishop's room had shared a wall against which their maker had placed the headboard of his bed. At night he would thrust into Aidan hard enough to make the headboard hit the wall, whispering in his ear, "Let me hear you, Aidan. I want to hear you." Of course he really meant that he wanted Marcus to hear them, just to irk the little prick and make him play their little game harder. Aidan was always happy to oblige. There was a reason they were called monsters.

Of course, it wasn't all competition and resentment. There were times that they were together as a cohesive family. He drifts his mind back and a day over 60 years ago stands out in his mind. The three of them had been up to some shenanigans, and Carlo, Bishop's maker, had gone ballistic on all of them. Carlo had grounded them in a manner of speaking, and forced them to go to a burial with him the next day. Predeceased by most of his friends, the client had been a solitary type in his old age, and the burial was unattended except for the four vampires and the priest. Carlo had stood across from them, with his hands clasped in front of him and pinning all three of them with his well practiced "I'm disappointed in you" glare over the lowering coffin. It had been autumn. The sky had been overcast but the gentle breeze was invigoratingly cool and fresh with the promise of rain. They had been contrite as they stood there together; the three Musketeers cast down a peg or two. There had been no ill will between them on that good day, only a companionable commiseration.

Marcus was dead now. Bishop's mistake had been killed by a mistake of his own, Rebecca. Now they were both just dust and memories. And Bishop was soon to follow: An end of an era as surely as Carlo's death had been.

Aidan thought back to the events he and Bishop used to crash together. Wedding receptions, swap meets, once even a church bake sale. They would sneak up to the place and couple quickly outside. Bishop preferred to make his entrance while still humming with the afterglow of an orgasm, his blood lust heightened by the sex, his body relaxed and graceful. Walk in too tense, Bishop said, and that's when you make stupid mistakes, and miss out on a bountiful banquet. It was there for them to taste and enjoy... Just like how Aidan was there for Bishop to taste and enjoy. And if guilt at the killings over took Aidan afterwards, Bishop would be there to hold him, reassure him, love him, tell him they had the right because they were just another force of nature, part of the balance that God had intended.

If times had always been like those, Aidan most likely would have stayed with his maker, right there by his side. Aidan had tried to live as a good man in life: a responsible son, a loving husband, a doting father, and a dutiful soldier. Loyal, he cared about the people in his life; He wanted to see his loved ones happy. When Bishop was all he had left, he wanted to make Bishop happy. But Bishop was a manipulative and possessive bastard. He just couldn't stand to live a simple, straightforward life; He let his hunger for control and power warp and tarnish existence for all of them. Aidan left him. Aidan ran from Bishop for years... And finally tired of the chase, Aidan had thought a compromise would mollify Bishop. He agreed to come back to Boston, but not back to the family. Maybe if he was nearby, Aidan had thought, Bishop wouldn't feel the need to doggedly pursue him. Aidan didn't want to see the world like Bishop did, didn't want to think like Bishop did; he didn't want to play Bishop's games anymore. So, foolishly, he pretended that Bishop had ceased to play them as well and ended up blinding himself to Bishop's influence on the events in his life. Entirely disregarding Bishop's meddling nature had been stupid, stupid, stupid! Rebecca's making never would have happened. Bernie's death at Aidan's hands never would have happened if Aidan had been more on his guard against his maker. That Aidan was bad at compelling had been true, but did Officer Garity die the way Bishop had said? After all, Bishop had tried beforehand to dissuade Aidan from trying to save the man in that fashion, and planted doubts in his mind. Bishop did have near daily access to the policeman, and Bishop was excellent at compelling. It would have been no problem at all for his maker to compel the man to kill himself. (If it was Bishop who had really driven Mike Garity to his death, it didn't mean Josh was any safer from madness after being compelled last night!) What else had Bishop done to vector Aidan back into his arms?

Taking Josh had done it. Well, actually no, he had always tried to keep his vampire life separate and a mystery to his werewolf friend. He had been royally pissed when Rebecca had killed Cara in front of his traumatized werewolf roommate. When Josh showed up at Sapp and Sons, he had felt utterly powerless. After years of losing battles with his maker and seeing victims meet their inevitable end, he had been habituated to thinking it was better for him to keep his mouth shut and stay out of it. Aidan had fallen victim to his own learned helplessness. Being yelled at by Sally had done it, motivated Aidan to stand up and bargain for Josh, trading himself for the werewolf. Bishop had been pleased. Before the big meeting with the Dutch, when the two of them had time alone, Aidan begged Bishop to take the deal. Bishop assured him that everything would work out, taking long moments to kiss him while he pawed possessively at Aidan's body. It was almost humiliating how good it felt to be back in his maker's arms, but Aidan resented the circumstances that forced him there. Going back to Bishop after his lifetime with Josh and Sally was always the plan, and he had told Bishop as much. As usual, Bishop just couldn't stand to allow him that one lifetime apart. He had been a little surprised that Bishop didn't bed him right away. But now that he knew Bishop's plan, it was likely that Bishop was planning a celebratory seduction after his triumphant vanquishing of The Dutch.

Aidan heaved a heavy sigh. If you love something, let it go... If it comes back, it's yours. Dragging it back to you time and time again wasn't really the same thing. It's not that Aidan hated Bishop. He loved his maker deeply, but just couldn't be with him. He couldn't lose himself utterly in his maker's whims: he needed his space, his autonomy… he needed a life of his own. That's all he had wanted: One lifetime to himself every now and then, and then the freedom to choose to go back to Bishop. Somehow, in the back of his mind, he had this silly, romantic and incredibly naive idea that if he just lived one full lifetime apart from his maker, then they could start over again fresh and cast off the tension caused by their history and previous relationship dynamics. He could come back not as an underling, but someone who had the right to have a life of his own; someone who was free to love his maker on his own terms. But Bishop couldn't give him that. Bishop always had to be in control. There was no getting around it: Aidan knew he was the love of Bishop's life.

Fifty years ago, Bishop had fallen deeply in love with a nurse named Jane. When Aidan forced Bishop to make a choice between them, Jane was dead by morning. If he had to do it all over again, Aidan might have turned Jane himself before the Dutch showed up. Jane would have been a good influence if she had taken to the blood. Bishop might have been content to just be with her, and let Aidan go. After all, Bishop actually respected her wishes so she was free to allow herself to love him back. Aidan would have had the freedom he wanted. Marcus and Jane would have gotten along better than he and Aidan did. Ah, shoulda, coulda, woulda. Then again, if she went wild then desperate like Rebecca, it would have just been more drama for all of them.

Which lands them here, fifty years later, and now Aidan was the nurse at Suffolk County Hospital who couldn't bring themselves to give in to Bishop. Maybe Bishop just had really sucky luck with nurses, Aidan thought facetiously.

No vampire in their right mind wanted a war. And although they both knew the vampire community at large would move against him, Bishop was more personally concerned by Aidan's lack of support. If Bishop couldn't even get his first lieutenant in line, he had no credibility with which to raise his vampire army. Was this whole stupid plan of Bishop's a design to get Aidan back? If it had been, it had gone too far; it was too late now for a happy ending. Now they would never be together ever again. It was overwhelming and terrifying, knowing that the one person in the world who would always be there for you was going to be gone forever. Aidan wasn't good at being alone. They could never start over together as equals. It made Aidan want to scream out in frustration and grief.

Aidan was Bishop's Great Warrior. It fell to him to respond. It wasn't over. Aidan knew Bishop would come after him again. More directly this time, and not right away, either. Bishop was going to let the anticipation and worry penetrate and marinate until normal life for Aidan just wasn't possible until it was hashed out between the two of them. It had already begun.

Aidan didn't want to be a leader. He didn't want to be trapped at that desk in the garage submerged in vampire politics like Bishop had been, and Carlo before him. If there was one thing he had learned, it was that the lifecycle of a vampire ended at that desk. Yes, Bishop had to be stopped, but he just didn't want to do this. This was exactly why he wanted to be free of other vampires. They were always putting him smack dab between a rock and a hard place. They made him live his life not by the decisions he wanted to make, but by choices they forced him to make. He had his life here in this house that he wanted to live, with Josh and Sally. He wanted freedom. He wanted love. But first things first: Kill Bishop, and protect Josh and Sally.

Josh usually asked to be scheduled on late shifts the day after a full moon. He needed time to be able to smooth over any surprises and get a little rest, but found it was helpful to immediately immerse himself back into his normal routine. Aidan also worked a little later on those days, to be there for Josh in the morning if his help was needed. On this day, Aidan was scheduled to start a couple of hours before Josh, and had already left for work when Josh woke up.

The werewolf overslept a little bit, and hurried through his usual morning routine. Josh went downstairs to get his morning coffee and breakfast, meeting Sally in the kitchen.

"Morning!" she said lightly, and he could feel her watching him surreptitiously.

One look at his disembodied roommate and he knew that Aidan had told her what happened. "Good morning," he replied, almost dreading this conversation. He took a bolstering deep breath. He busied himself with preparing his breakfast. He needed more than a single protein bar after a turn. An omelet with some leftover steak would be perfect. He decided to put it out there in the open, and get the hard part over with.

"So… the good news is: I finally got laid last night, and the bad news is that it was with… Aidan and… I really don't want to talk about it."

It seems Sally had decided to be sensitive to the fact that this was probably going to be awkward for him. "Well, we're gonna have to talk about it a little, Josh. Are you okay?" Her question was serious and sincere.

"Yes," he answered.

"Aidan said he compelled you last night." She received a nod in response, so she asked him, "was that your idea, or his?"

Josh looked at her, surprised at the question. "It was his."

Sally accepted his answer with a nod of her own. She had figured that if Aidan had forced Josh, he would have implanted the thought in Josh's mind that it had been Josh's idea to cover his tracks. Since Josh believed it was Aidan's idea, it was likely that Aidan had been telling the truth about Josh consenting. "So how do you feel this morning… about Aidan?"

Josh gave a chuckle. "You know how when you live with someone, there are times that you hate their guts, and there are times that you just... love 'em to pieces? Well, part of agreeing to be compelled was accepting that I am gonna love Aidan to pieces for a little while. And because he's Aidan, I'm sure it won't take long for him to do something that gets me pissed off at him, and then I'll probably hate his guts a little." Josh shrugged one shoulder. "For the both of us to walk out of there alive," he told her, "it's a small price to pay!"

Aidan had really scared the bejeezus out of him at that last moment before he changed, when the vampire had told Josh goodbye. Waking up to find Aidan alive beside him was an unexpected reprieve, and one for which Josh was profoundly grateful. There was nothing more to do for it now other than to pick himself up, count his blessings, and just keep on keeping on.

Sally was still sitting on the fold-out chair, quietly watching him. He realized she probably had a million incredibly invasive questions she wanted to ask him but she knew he would never answer them. He needled her a little, sending her a wink and a smile that just made her all the more curious.

Aidan had been at work for two hours before he caught sight of Josh arriving for his shift. He acknowledged Aidan with a nod and a somewhat distracted, perfunctory smile. So far, so good. Aidan caught sight of Josh a little later, talking with Nora. He looked okay, but a little haggard around the edges. So far... so-so. Keeping a surreptitious eye out for his friend, Aidan could see things with Josh were going downhill rapidly. Josh seemed to get tenser the more the day wore on: his body language grew stiffer, limbs tight and awkward, the muscles beside his eyes becoming pinched. For about two hours he seemed to disappear completely, and then, about an hour before Aidan went off shift, he actually saw Josh walking down the corridor, saw Josh see him, and then turn to avoid him. Shit. Shit. Shit. A thousand times shit. If he was fighting his programming, he could self-destruct right here at the hospital, where there were far too many scalpels, and needles that could be filled with cleaning fluid. Why had Aidan let him come in today? Finally, finally… Finally! The end of Aidan's shift came. He followed Josh's scent and found him changing the bedding in an empty room.

Aidan carefully modulated his voice to a tone of gentle concern. "Josh, is everything alright?"

Josh jumped and spun to face him. "Yes!" he gasped, speaking fast. "Every... Everything's good. I'm... I'm good." Josh nodded emphatically. "I'm good!" he repeated. With nothing more forthcoming from Aidan, Josh looked at the clock. "Oh! You're off then! Okay, I'll see you at home later!"

Then he repeated "I'll see you at home, later" more forcefully, his head bowed a little, his eyes moving, but blankly focused at the empty space in front of him. It was as if he was talking to someone else, someone he wouldn't, or couldn't look at.

Aidan was confused, and more than a little worried. "You're sure you're okay?"

Josh's eyes snapped back up to Aidan's, giving him a little shrug and brief shake of his head as he answered with a quick, closed lipped, affirmative, "uh-huh!"

Aidan nodded slowly. "I'll see you at home soon, then."

A tense nod and another overly-chipper "uh-huh!"

Aidan nodded again, and exited the room. He walked purposefully out of the building. Josh's sense of hearing would still be strong. The vampire pulled his cell phone out of his pocket and speed dialed home. The phone rang three times before the answering machine took over, broadcasting his voice into their hopefully currently haunted home. "Sally, I'm outside the hospital at the benches. Could you come keep an eye on Josh? Don't show yourself. Don't let him know you're here if you can help it."

Sally spoke up beside him. "Is it bad?"

He pressed the End button and pocketed his phone. It was Aidan's turn to give a little shrug and shake his head. "It's something." He sighed, worried. His eyes flicked upwards towards the hospital. "I last saw him in three twelve."

Sally nodded, and dissipated.

Aidan picked up some Chinese food on the way home, and made sure to erase his message to the dead roommate from the machine immediately after he arrived. Sally didn't reappear at home, and while he supposed that no news was good news, he was still anxious. He stayed at the ready, prepared to jump into action to race to Josh's side if need be. After an uncomfortable wait, Sally finally popped into the living room.

She looked at Aidan. "We're home."

Aidan rose, and stood by the banister. In one smooth movement, Josh was through the door, dropped his bag on the floor, and walked straight up to Aidan, saying "Don't take this the wrong way!" Josh grabbed the older man's shirt in both fists, and pulling their bodies together, buried his face in the vampire's neck, inhaling deeply in gulps of air.

The vampire brought his hands up to rub at the back of his friend's arms, hoping to pacify him. The arms were tight, and trembling. "Josh, what's going on?"

The werewolf didn't move, but in a small, miserable voice, he said "I had the most horrible nightmare this morning."

Aidan was surprised. This was not what he expected to hear.

With no further prompting, the whole story poured out. "In the dream, I woke up as the wolf, but I was still aware as myself. I was in a meadow brightly lit by the full moon, and at the end of the meadow, there was a police car."

Aidan closed his eyes with a nearly silent groan. He could see where this was going.

"And Bishop was there, kinda casually leaning against the squad car. He was wearing a costume, like a circus ringleader, with a top hat, except the jacket was black sequence, and had all of his police patches on it. And I thought: I am the wolf. I am stronger than him and I can get him right now. I ran towards him, practically vibrating with speed and strength, and just as I was about to reach him, my whole body was engulfed in this blinding pain. And I hear him laughing maniacally, calling out to me that I needed to stay inside the electric fence. I manage to crawl backwards away from him, and only when it stops, do I feel the heavy collar around my neck. He tells me that you are buried somewhere in the meadow, and if I can find you by dawn he will let us go. If I fail, you will die. And I am frantic. I feel drawn to a spot, and I feel certain you're there. I start digging with my paws; I get a few inches down, and then I feel absolutely certain that you were not there at all, but in some other spot. And then the same thing would happen all over again. And on and on, the whole night long, and all during this, Bishop is laughing. And the sun comes up over the horizon, and across the meadow, there is an explosion, and your head lands in front of me, and turns to dust."

Josh pauses for a moment before continuing. Aidan is leaning into him. Sally is watching the men, looking so sad and compassionate. "So, you know, sucky way to start the day, and the dream was disturbing in a way that stayed with me, but I figured that the lingering feeling of unease would go away as I got on with my day... I would be fine after I got to work. I saw you when I came in, and I told myself, see, there he is, alive and just fine. But there was this little flutter, this niggling little feeling that I still needed to find you. I kept telling myself that you were there with me, you were fine, that I have found you and we were fine, but the feeling just got stronger. I could smell your scent at the hospital, and I would tell myself, see, you found him, and he's fine! But that only seemed to make it worse, smelling you, because there was something inside of me pushing me to look for you."

Josh ducked under the vampire's chin, dragging his nose across Aidan's collarbone and coming back up to nestle and sniff the other side of his neck.

"So I went to the E wing, hoping that it would stop if I was further away from you. But it just made it way worse. I couldn't smell you anymore and I had this overwhelming fear that you were dead! So I came back, and when I saw you, I knew I couldn't trust what I would do, because by now this thing is screaming at me. So I just tried to avoid you for the rest of the day, hoping we could sort it out here at home. I know you told me not to fight what was going on in my head, but you didn't program me to think you were dead!" The werewolf clenched his teeth. "I just want to. Stop! Looking!" he ground out.

Aidan asked gently, "Is it working?"

Josh gave an exasperated whimper. "Not yet!"

The vampire gave the younger man's arms a couple of circular, encompassing strokes before bringing his hands up to the werewolf's neck. Lovingly, pushed the other man back to bring him eye to eye. Aidan gave him a small smile. "Don't take this the wrong way." The vampire took in a small breath in of air, and blew softly against the other man's lips and nose. The werewolf opened his mouth as if to speak, and the vampire swooped forward, sealing their lips together in a kiss.

Josh moaned, his right hand letting go of the shirt to clutch at the closest arm, holding them into the kiss. He responded eagerly, sucking hard at the other man's tongue as if he were starving. Sally was surprised at the sight of her roommates getting so unusually affectionate with one another. She had understood what happened between then last night, but saw the incident through Aidan's concern, she hadn't stopped to think about what the two of them really would have looked like, two young, buff bodies naked and writhing, how hot they looked going at it with each other. Josh was usually so pissy, Aidan usually so broody... who knew they had it in them to be like this with each other? The kiss ended and Aidan pulled back. Josh remained still, eyes closed, taking internal readings. His body was relaxing, and he could feel the tension leaving muscles he didn't even realize had been clenched.

Leave it to a vampire to think of this! Images can be caught and frozen forever, voices can be recorded and saved for a rainy day, and scents can linger; even be bottled. Nothing speaks to your deepest inborn instincts like the unique taste of another living body to prove to you that the other is there with you in that moment. Tasting had done what the other senses could not. He opened his eyes to give the vampire an amused look, then rolled his eyes and giving a laugh, pulled Aidan into a relieved hug. "Oh, I've found you!"

As they separated and both stepped back, Josh continued jubilantly "So, that was my crappy day! How was yours?"

Both of his roommates joined him in laughter. Aidan answered him, still smiling. "Well, I think my day is starting to look up!" He was glad Josh was better, but still a little worried at the cause. Was this a programming problem: a little too heavy on the "Wanting"? Was it the wolf, dreaming of its mate? Or just a little PTSD: the repressed anxiety from last night working itself out of the psyche?

"Is that Chinese food?" Josh asked. "I worked through lunch. I couldn't even think about eating. I'm starving!" Aidan nodded. Josh fetched the chopsticks and dove right in. "I'm supposed to meet Nora at nine. We're going to the movies." He told Aidan. "You don't think Bishop will try anything more, do you? Maybe we should stay in, watch a video at her place?"

Aidan considered. "You should be fine. Bishop tried the wolf card and it didn't work. It's just between him and me now." His voice was reassuring, and as worried as he was still about Bishop, he did his best to hide his extreme relief. YES! Josh still wanted Nora! Maybe he didn't permanently destroy his friend's mind, not to mention their friendship, with his lack of mesmerism skills. This was good. This was very, very good!


	5. RoRChapter04

"Genius with a penis;  
The few, the proud, the me!  
I liked me so much I had to buy the company!"  
- The Inevitable Return of the Great White Dope, Hooray for Boobies. The Bloodhound Gang.

Reciprocity of Ratiocination.

Chapter 4: Proponent Promptly Pushes Prudent Plan Proposal.

Things in their lives went back to normal, as normal as life can be under the constant threat of Bishop's revenge. Aidan kept Josh apprised of everything that was happening in Boston's vampire underground. It was Bishop's decision to include Josh, and because he was involved, Josh deserved to know what was going on. Aidan had reconnected with an old love: Celine. Nora's pregnancy was progressing. Sally recovered from her near exorcism and took the high road with Danny, leaving him to his lawful punishment and winning her door to heaven. When Bishop's direct attack did come, it was swift and in an entirely unexpected moment: Just as they were saying their goodbyes to Sally, Aidan was nearly taken from them.

Bishop had jumped through their living room window, and stabbed Aidan in the chest. Aidan had fallen backwards, blood pouring out of his back and pooling on the floor. Josh's cries sounded panicked as he called Aidan's name, attempting to rouse his unresponsive friend. Josh had pulled himself together, used Aidan's car to get Aidan to the hospital, and put him on a gurney down in the basement. He got Nora to bring them blood. He stood watch. Josh had readied himself for a fight when someone approached the door, but it was just Celine.

"Go home. Sleep. Eat something!" She urged him.

"I can't leave him." Josh protested.

"You'll be more help to him rested." Celine pointed out.

"There are things. It's uh... A thing... out there... that wants to kill him. Something you couldn't possibly understand," Josh whispered to her, resolute.

"Bishop and the vampires." Celine affirmed gently. "I've understood for quite a long time, Josh. But don't worry. I know how to handle Bishop." She showed him the stake she had hidden in her robe. "Go home," she encouraged him again.

Josh had gone upstairs first to wash his face and wake up a little before trekking home. He ran in to Nora. They had words. She was unhappy taking the risks Josh was asking of her without understanding the situation. Josh held his ground. Nora left the conversation by saddling Josh with a heavy mantle of guilt. He wanted to be there for her and their baby, more than anything. But deep within him was a fear that the moment he confessed his condition aloud to her, she would be implicated... Involved in the secret and thereby become a part of it. He would be a monster to her and she would be in danger from him.

He thought of Celine downstairs with Aidan. She was an old blast from Aidan's past, it was HER name that Josh had spied countless times as a tattoo inked on Aidan's chest. She had known about Bishop. It surprised him. She had known about Bishop, and here she was, a strong, independent woman at the natural end of her life. Knowing who Bishop was and what Aidan was hadn't damned her. He let himself imagine for a moment, that he had Nora's name tattooed on his chest in the same script that Aidan had used for Celine's. What would it be like if she could know his secret? Share a life with him, a life with no hiding and no barriers between them? He imagined saying to her "oh, don't forget I'm turning in the woods tonight, so I can't do the three A.M. feeding," then kissing her and their baby before rushing out the door. He could be there for her. Love her...

But loose lips sink ships. You can't take those words back, and knowing would implicate her. No matter how many private thoughts and intimate truths you share about yourself, in the end, each man is an island onto himself. Surely a double life was safer? Go back to medical school to become Dr. Jekyll, play Ozzy to her Harriet at home, and then sneak off once a month to turn into Mr. Hyde. He sighed heavily. Rule number one: no one gets hurt. If telling Nora everything was the right thing to do, wouldn't not telling her feel like the greater risk?

Sally missed her door. Aidan came home weak but managing. Bishop cornered Josh at work and delivered his terms: a fight to the death. When Josh got home, Aidan took the news in stride, but Sally was bound to dissuade him...

"It's not like I borrowed his car without asking. I thwarted his plan of taking over the eastern seaboard." Aidan told her. He exhaled, sounding fatigued. "It's better if I just do this."

Sally looked over at Josh. "Tomorrow's the full moon," she told him. "Josh, I saw what you did to that wolf. What... what your wolf did!"

Josh stood up from his pensive leaning position against the countertop. "What?"

"And the vampires, they were terrified." She went on. "You're... you're more powerful than any of them."

"Wait a minute," Josh stammered, "You want me..."

Aidan interrupted. "Sally, it's not controlled!"

"It's not possible!" Josh insisted. "It's not possible, he said he would go after my mom and dad, he said..." Josh abandoned that line of thought, spooked. He moved towards Aidan, stammering and almost pleading. "We could leave. We could leave! You, me, Sally, Nora, we, we, we, I, I... she hates me right now, but I can talk to her..."

"Good, you should talk to Nora, and you should leave with Nora, that would be good. But you should forget about me." Aidan grunted as he pushed himself up to stand.

"Sorry, but no." Josh told him.

"Sorry, but this is my battle, okay? End of story." Aidan started off in the direction of the stairs.

"So what, we just let you go? We never see you again? You just go off and die?"

Aidan stopped, still facing the stairs. There was something in Josh's voice, the timbre of panic and fear that finally jangled into Aidan's perception. He thought back on the night that Bishop stabbed him, the desperation in Josh's voice as the werewolf called out Aidan's name. Was it fear of losing a friend... or a mate? He thought of all those hours in the hospital basement that Josh had clung on to his hand, then retreating from Aidan so he could sleep. Josh had sat vigil between him and the door: protecting him as he slept. In his mind's eye, Aidan saw the cage in the bank vault, and Josh's wolf pacing around his sleeping body.

Protecting him as he slept.

Josh was a good man, Aidan thought. It wasn't as if he would have normally expected Josh to be nonchalant in the face of his best and only friend being attacked right in front of him, but once someone had been compelled, there was always the possibility they were never going to be quite the same person. You never knew how much or how little their programming was at work in their minds at any time. It could wax and wane like the moon. And Aidan had been so relieved when Josh had gone back to mooning over Nora. He and Josh had seamlessly gone back to just being roommates. Nothing felt amiss. But the programming could still be there, hiding just under the surface like the wolf was, with only an occasional ripple to evidence its presence. What if the only reason Josh could maintain his normal conscious life was because Aidan was here with him in the house?

Aidan had done the right thing by Josh in the cage that night. But now Aidan had to take care of this situation with his maker. It was only right. To do otherwise would just prolong it, and put his friends in even more danger. He couldn't protect Josh from everything. Aidan had to prepare him.

"I fight." Aidan said. When Aidan turned around to face the werewolf, his face was sympathetic. "This should have happened lifetimes ago. And..." A thread of concern wheedled its way through his mind, what would happen to that poor little wolf if I died? "I am truly sorry that it had to happen during yours."

Aidan turned away again; he had gone upstairs to think. He knew he had left things uneasy downstairs but there was nothing that could be done about it. After a few hours, Josh went to bed and Aidan slipped downstairs to talk to Sally.

"Why won't you let Josh help you?" She asked. "He's stronger than Bishop. The wolf can kill Bishop and you'll both be safe!"

"Sally, Bishop is strong AND fast. He can strike at Josh when he is in the middle of turning, and kill him. It's not the ideal answer you think it is!"

Sally pouted.

"And there's another problem with letting Josh fight."

"What?" Sally asked sullenly.

"Josh doesn't have free will, not when it comes to this. I... we... programmed him to believe in the deepest levels of his consciousness that I'm his mate. He will literally feel COMPELLED to protect me. He doesn't have a choice! We can't let this lead him to self-destruction. It's not fair!"

Realization dawned on Sally's face. "Oh, crap!"

"Sally, this fight has been a long time coming, and it's MY fight. I can't step aside. It's something I have to do. And we need to protect Josh!"

Reluctantly, Sally agreed. Together they devised a plan. And together, they executed it.

Two nights later, all three of them were together and back in their home. They were safe; their little family was unbroken. Bishop was dead, as was Aidan's old love, Celine. Sadly, so was Josh and Nora's baby. Nora now knew what Josh was, and maybe that would turn out to be for the best. And just at that moment, when they were tasting the sweetest possibilities of their future, basking in the friendship they found in one another, and facetiously planning their new careers as the Krav Maga Ghost Crime Fighting Trio; trouble knocked on their door.

And wouldn't you know it? It was for Aidan.

It was enough to put a damper on the evening. At the very moment Aidan had begun to celebrate the idea of true freedom, of casting off the claustrophobic bindings in which his maker had entangled him for over two hundred years, the Dutch showed up to hand Aidan the reigns.

There wasn't much Sally and Josh could do for Aidan, this was a vampire family matter. Aidan seemed sure that he could put the city back together again. He would have to; the elders had made it his responsibility. A city this big needed a network; it was just a matter of security.

But first, they had to get their home back in order. Thanks to Sally, Josh and Aidan were now homeowners. Danny had made good on his offer and signed over the house. Score a big karmic "one" for Danny.

Sally and Danny had their house in order in more ways than one: When they bought the house, they took out life insurance policies on one another that would cover the mortgage, funeral expenses, student loans, and provide enough money to finance a grieving period for the survivor. At first, Danny offered to sell the roommates the house for the balance of what he owed on his condo, but Sally didn't go for it. She had literally paid for the house with her life, so her counter offer was for Danny to "suck it," and in addition to selling the house to Aidan and Josh for the amount of rent paid to date, to pay restitution to them for the damage caused by the fire he started. Seeing the benefits of skipping the expensive lawsuit, Danny accepted her terms, and the house was theirs. Although the great state of Massachusetts had Danny dead to rights on the Arson charge, the voluntary confession on the murder and the restitution paid for the arson damage gave Danny's lawyer a little wiggle room. The murder charge was plead down from murder in the second degree, (meaning Sally had died while Danny's intention was to harm her, not kill her), to murder in the third degree, (unintentional death resulting through negligence), and won Danny a lesser prison sentence. C est la vie and sayonara, Danny!

For the first week or so, Sally joined Aidan and Josh to help them pursue their first love together: Antiquing. Now that they didn't have the exorbitant rent to pay, they had more discretionary income: The American Dream! They bought a nice used couch and a couple of chairs that were old but well-constructed, found an amazing antique carved mantelpiece, and got a bigger flat screen TV along with a new blu-ray player. A little paint, some wallpaper, and a couple of throw pillows made their little home cozy again.

Aidan took a sabbatical from work. He had no clue where to start. He thought that maybe there would be some papers and ledgers left behind in Sapp and Sons that would help him identify, find, or replace the key personnel of the network he had unraveled when he killed Bishop. Aidan quickly became bogged down and overwhelmed. He had never really been a recruiter. It's not that he wasn't willing to approach strangers with an offer to work together, but he strongly felt he needed to be sure about who he was trusting with his kind's security. He needed to know who the candidates really were as people and if they could be trusted without being turned.

But in this situation, there was nothing but a vacuum. There were way too many people to ferret out and investigate at once. Plus, vampires working in the network needed good compelling skills, and since he didn't care for compelling humans and was Bishop's favorite, he had always gotten a pass. Now it was all up to him. It was a frightening and terrible burden.

Aidan would give his roommates updates on his total lack of progress, but put on a brave, reassuring face for them. Sally was encouraging but not worried. There was no reason for her to be concerned, although Sally cared about Aidan, she was already dead and any failure on Aidan's part wouldn't make or break her existence.

Josh was worried, though. He had been thinking long and hard about Aidan's vampire family, Aidan's situation, and the future vampire family of Boston. What if the new family came complete with another Marcus who liked to bully werewolves? How about another Bishop, who kept his own wolf and liked to fight him? Josh could see the strain starting to wear on his friend. In a very real way, Josh's existence WAS hinged on Aidan's success or failure; and he felt utterly helpless. Stepping back, crossing his arms and refusing to play was his survival mechanism, it was his _thang_. He just wanted a safe, stable home! But the trouble with survival mechanisms was that they outlived their usefulness. Trying to hold on to his friends in this house was like trying to hold on to water: and the tighter he tried to hold them in place, the more they slipped through his fingers. They would just get these _ideas_ and go running off and land them all in the middle of trouble! Like it had been when he and Aidan were locked in the cage, maybe it was going with their flow that was going to help him the most. It had been the vampires' idea to use Josh as a pawn in vampire politics, so it's not like this would be unprecedented or unheard of; and he wasn't above meddling to help out a friend. Together, he and Aidan had outsmarted the vampires once before. The way Josh figured it; the one thing that could screw them up the most right now was Aidan slipping. Put under so much stress with nowhere to turn, Murphy's Law dictated that this would be the time that Aidan would crack.

Solution? Give Aidan somewhere to turn. Make himself a bumper that could push Aidan away from the edge and in a safer direction.

Wow... this was gonna be an awkward conversation!

The opportunity to talk presented itself that night, which was a little too soon for Josh. He hadn't really been able to formulate a persuasive argument in his head, suss out exactly what he wanted to say or should say. (Or really, really shouldn't say!) But he didn't want to chicken out now, because if he waited until Aidan was teetering on the edge of stumbling, yelling out a desperate "I'll sleep with you!" would hardly be timely or helpful. Josh was nervous. He hated being this nervous.

Aidan was sitting on the couch, crumpled a little as he looked off into nothing. Sally hadn't come out to greet him, so she must be out and about, exploring the world. "Hey!" Josh greeted Aidan, walking past the couch and sitting on the armchair.

"Hey," Aidan answered, sounding tired. "What's up?"

"Oh, nothing really going on here. How about you... How's your little project going?"

"It's going fine."

"Really fine, or "_fine_"?"

"Ah... why do you want to know?"

"Well, I,I... I just... care about you, and... I, I'm uh... a little concerned." Josh gave a little exhale at the end, still nervous but glad at least a little of the conversation was out of the way.

Aidan spoke slowly. "Okay... concerned about... what?

"Well, you know, you're doing a great job with the whole... Staying Sober thing, and I was just a little worried about you getting overly stressed because I know that trying to stay sober through high stress levels is, is... really hard and when YOU get stressed you grab a drink at the bar. And when you're drinking at the bar a woman will come up and talk to you because you're you, and at first you won't want to talk to her and get involved, but then you won't want to hurt her feelings by rejecting her, so you two will start talking and then you are going to get more interested in each other and then you start thinking that relieving a little stress would be nice, and then you end up hooking up and going back to her place and then... you're going to slip up and kill her."

Aidan's mouth dropped open, brows knitting in offence. "You don't trust me!"

"No, Aidan I do," defended Josh, "I do, but this sort of thing can happen anytime, right? You're always going to be tempted. I, I, I see how you stare at our co-workers while standing in the lunch line and I know you're always fighting those urges. I'm not saying I don't trust you... I'm saying that I... want to help!"

Aidan's eyes narrowed and he cocked his head, waiting.

"I'm saying that instead of the bar, the girl, the drink... If you are looking to relieve a little stress... just... use me."

The vampire found himself temporarily surprised and confused into speechlessness.

"Look, when, when, when we moved in together, we agreed to look after each other. Now, I, I know we didn't mean... LIKE THAT... but..." Josh took a steadying breath. "But there's no cleanup crews right now and no offense... if you knew how to hide a body, Rebecca would have never come back." Josh could literally see the weight of that statement hit his friend. "It's not like we've never had sex before, and we're still okay. It's not going to hurt our friendship, but you falling off of the wagon... might. I just want to keep things simple, and give you another option!"

"Whoa!" Came Sally's voice from the direction of the kitchen. "I would ask what you two have been up to, but based on what I just heard..." her voice raised a few octaves in pitch, "plenty!"

Josh closed his eyes and grimaced. Wow, just when he was sure this conversation couldn't get more awkward, he learns that, yes, it could. But then he realizes that if he and Aidan do start getting busy with each other, springing it on Sally by having her walk in on them would have been worse. Seeing an opportunity for an ally, he turned to her. "But you get it, right? I mean, people in AA have sponsors, people they can call when they are feeling stressed out and, and ... vulnerable, who are there for them... support them, and keep them... on track."

Sally shrugged, tipping her head to the side and humming a note as she mulled it over.

"So you want me to sleep with you?" Aidan asked doubtfully.

"No, I want you to get through this without killing people," Josh carefully clarified.

Sally walked over to them, sitting beside Aidan on the couch. "Does this have anything to do with the time that Aidan compelled you? Is this just you trying to get back into his pants?"

Josh's jaw dropped, shocked. "No!" He told her in a firm voice. He shot her the requisite dirty look before tearing his eyes away from her and back to Aidan. "Well?"

Aidan looked over at the spirit sitting beside him.

"You gotta admit, it's a pretty good deal!" She told him.

"Fantastic, both of you have lost your minds," the vampire muttered. "Look," he addressed Josh clearly, "I'm fine. I've got everything under control!"

"Which is why we're having this conversation now, when we can make contingency plans with a clear head," the werewolf interjected.

"Okay," Aidan said, deciding to humor Josh, "If I take you up on your offer, what would the ground rules be?"

Josh was a little thrown by that, he hadn't thought about it that far. "Um..." He considered it. If he were letting Aidan sleep with him... what could Aidan do that would seriously piss him off? "Well, I guess... if you take me up on the offer, then, no sleeping with anyone else. I know you can't contract sexually transmitted diseases, but if you are with two people at the same time, there is a possibility you could be carrying pathogens on your skin. So if you're with me, then you can't sleep with anyone else for the duration."

Aidan: "How long is the duration?"

"I guess until the network is back up," Josh answered. "I mean, when the network is up, so is the blood den, right? You'll have other people to go to."

The vampire nodded. Suddenly, Josh's rule seemed a little hypocritical to him. "But you still get to sleep with Nora?"

"I'm not sleeping with Nora." Josh stated quietly. He averted his eyes and mumbled, "The doctor said she needed time to heal."

Yep, it doesn't take much these days to make Aidan feel like a jerk. "I'm... sorry I brought that up."

Josh nodded his head slightly, ready to move on.

They both needed someone else to focus on, so they looked at Sally. She grabbed the moment. "No draining him and no boffing him to death, either!"

That surprised a chuckle out of Aidan. He nodded. "I can live with that."

Sally looked at both of them, neither appeared to have anything more to add. She could see Josh had come to the same conclusion and was rising to his feet. "So!" Sally said brightly, "Kiss on it and you've got yourselves a deal!"

Her boys looked at one another, slightly wary, and Josh stuck out his right hand. After a brief, firm handshake, Josh made a hasty retreat upstairs. Aidan turned to Sally, and asked her about her day. As he listened to her answer, he made a resolution within himself to be strong, and not take Josh up on his offer.

As it turns out, Aidan's resolution didn't last the week


	6. RoRChapter05

"That's why I ran like a Flock Of Seagulls.  
Why make-up like Mary Kay?  
You must've given up on hair plugs,  
'cause now you're going toupee!"  
- Right Turn Clyde, Hooray for Boobies. The Bloodhound Gang.

Reciprocity of Ratiocination.

Chapter 5. Welcome to the show, Nora!

It was a very busy day at the hospital. Going off shift, Nora dropped by the security room to visit with a friend of hers. The security room was empty. Not surprising, the security department was minimally staffed, which meant if there was any type of situation that needed to be handled anywhere in the hospital, personnel would be there, not here.

A bank of security monitors shined out in dull, electric blue light. Each of the monitors flipped through their own series of security cameras, displaying the video feeds and moving on to the next cameras at regular intervals.

One monitor caught her eye. The camera in use was stationed at the top of the helipad stairwell. The double doors to the roof was on the left side of the screen, and the half of the floor that was not taken up by the stairs worked as a short hallway to the elevator over to the right. There would be no reason to go up there unless there was a helicopter coming in, in fact, there was a rule against lingering in that section. Since it was an area used in extreme emergencies, the hospital made it clear that the staff was not to loiter there, they could not use that roof for eating their lunch or hanging out. It would be inconvenient and dangerous to have extra, uninvolved people in the way during a medical emergency. The hospital was responsible for the safety of staff as well as patients.

But there, on the monitor, was Josh. Nora felt her gut twist and drop hard to the floor before her eyes fully made sense of what she was seeing. Josh was standing, facing the railing that ran the length of the hallway. His eyes were closed, his hands were gripping the railing as he panted, open mouthed. His scrub pants were dropped to his mid-thighs, and his "roommate" Aidan was gripping him from behind him, their bodies tight together as Aidan thrust against Josh… no… into Josh, from behind him. As she watched, Aidan's right hand came up to loosely cover Josh's mouth and chin. Josh caught one of Aidan's fingers in his mouth as Aidan twisted Josh's head back and to the left, exposing his neck. Eyes also closed, Aidan, not missing a single thrust as he dragged his tongue up his partner's neck, savoring, yet stopping at the top to whisper something into Josh's ear. Then…

Flip.

An interior camera to an elevator car showed a small collection of bored, unhappy faces.

Nora was trembling, her eyes stinging with the tears collecting. A cold fury gripped her. She remembered Josh telling her how weird and embarrassing it was to him that everyone assumed that he and his best friend were lovers. _Yeah right! Poor Josh_, she thought. _I wonder why?_

Questions burned in her mind. Why did Josh try to pursue a relationship with her if he and Aidan were involved? Is this why Josh had taken her as he did the one and only time they had sex? Because that was he and Aidan's favorite position? Why shouldn't she throttle them both, and throw their bodies into the incinerator in the hospital basement?

She stood there, stunned and caught between feeling angry and betrayed. Flip. Flip. Flip. And there they were again. This time, Aidan was standing with his shoulder against the wall, facing Josh, his arms tightly crossed over his chest. He didn't look happy. Nora couldn't fathom why Aidan could look unhappy... It wasn't as if Josh wasn't putting out enough for him! She could see Aidan better than she could see Josh, who the camera viewed as a one-quarter profile, facing mostly away from the camera, looking directly at Aidan. Josh looked like he was going off, his left hand clamped oddly to the top of his left shoulder, and the right hand gesturing wildly. Lovers tiff? Already? She checked the information display in the top corner of the screen. Hello, Camera 41.

Each of the cameras had a dedicated DVD recorder hooked up to their feed. All of the DVD recorders had a little numbered metallic sticker on it. The DVDs were recorded in a compressed format, and replaced once a day. In the cupboard was the spindles of empty disks, she had been chatting with her friend more than once while they reset the disks for the day. She knew how to do it. Finalize, eject, format, record. She wanted as much information as she could get before confronting Josh, and you can't lie your way out of video evidence. And so help him if he tries to tell her it's a werewolf thing: She will kill him. She will absolutely kill him!

Flip, they are back. Josh was bouncing his free hand in front of him, loosely pointing at Aidan, and Aidan is laughing, an incredulous look on his face. She could just hear them now: Can you believe what an idiot Nora is? ... I know! Ha ha ha ha. She'll get him back. All she has to do was show this video at a company party. Or better yet, how about anonymously make it viral? Give it to one of those Caught On Tape websites and post the web address in the employee's break room. Send a copy to the local Synagogue! Well... no, maybe not that last one. That was going too far. Besides, Josh didn't even practice his religion. Just wore his Star of David and called it good. Right, that's decided! The Synagogue guys would just have to download their own copy off of the web just like everyone else! Too bad he keeps his Star of David tucked into his clothing…

She grabbed an empty disk from the cupboard, feeling time bearing down on her. She couldn't realistically expect to be alone here much longer. She prayed she would have long enough to change out the disk. The feed again rolled to Camera 41, showing an empty hall. She hit the Finalize button on the DVD recorder, and it flashed the word finalizing in the display. It took its sweet time, why do things always take so long when you are in a hurry? Nora scanned the camera feeds, looking for the security guards. There would be three at most, and Nora didn't see any of them, they must be out doing rounds, on the move. Hopefully, chatting up the staff on the way.

The DVD display changed from flashing "Finalizing" to flashing "Disk Finalized", and Nora quickly pushed the eject button. She exchanged the new DVD she was holding for the used one. The display now flashed "Loading." Come on, come on! The display changed to a flashing "Disk Loaded." She pressed "Format." The display flashed "Format." At least if she were to get caught now, they would think that the machine either hadn't been set up correctly, or was on the blink. She relaxed a little, pocketing the DVD. "Disk Ready" changed to "Recording" at the last button tap. She felt greatly relieved as she made a hasty escape.

Nora retrieved her lap top from her locker, and headed off to the bathroom. The handicap stall had a baby changing table, she would watch it there. She loaded the disk into her computer, and set it to play. No one had been up there all day; no Life Flights had used the helipad. She scanned the disk at x32 setting, until she saw Josh appear alone. She set the player to play at x1, and fiddled with the time index until she set it back to when Josh first showed up. Josh came up by the stairs, silently. The recording didn't have sound. He was on duty today; wearing a generic white t-shirt under his set of green scrubs. He checked his phone. Sending a text? Looked like it. Josh looked around. Heaved a sigh. Waiting.

Aidan entered by the unlocked roof access door, straight off the helipad. What did he do, climb up the safety ladders, all the way to the top of the building? Weird! He was wearing his customary leather jacket, a black v-neck t-shirt, and tight black jeans. Josh straightened and spoke a single syllable greeting, something like Hi or Hey. Aidan quickly shrugged out of his jacket and dropped it on the floor. Grabbing the front of Josh's scrub shirt, he pulled Josh to him, his left hand coming up to cup the side of Josh's neck as Aidan pulled him into a hard kiss, his right hand almost immediately letting go of the shirt and darting around behind Josh's back to pull their bodies tight together. After a hesitation, Josh's hands came up, his right hand snaking around to Aidan's back, his left hand resting on Aidan's right shoulder. This was no tentative first kiss. And why would it have been? They lived together. And they couldn't get enough of each other at home? Apparently not. Aidan pulled Josh around, backing him up slowly against the wall as they kissed. Aidan was getting more and more handsy, finding his way under Josh's clothing, all Roman hands and Russian fingers. He certainly seemed to know his way around Josh's body much better than she did.

She felt like such an idiot for trusting Josh, even telling him once that she didn't always go for nice guys. She had no inkling at the time that this "nice guy" preferred the type of guy she used to prefer.

Aidan was enthusiastically kissing Josh's neck now, Josh's eyes were closed, his head tipped to the side to give Aidan as much neck as he could take. Aidan's hands were still on Josh's body, managing to push Josh's pants down as Aidan moved backwards, pulling Josh's body against him possessively, as if he just couldn't get close enough. Aidan was leaning back, most likely to keep his penis in contact with Josh. Aidan was still wearing his pants, of course, his hands hadn't left Josh once, but if they weren't both hard by now it would have been a medical miracle. Aidan continued backwards in this manner, switching over to the other side of Josh's neck, (Josh switched sides, too, tipping his head the other way,) and kneading Josh's now-bare ass. Basically, he had dragged Josh to the banister. As Aidan stepped off to the side, Josh put both of his hands on the railing to hold himself up. Aidan was off to Josh's left side, then, left hand turning Josh's head to give him deep, enthusiastic kisses while Aidan's right hand was, Nora supposed, lubing up Josh.

Josh's eyes opened briefly as Aidan stepped up behind him, looking around at nothing, but fell closed again as Aidan took hold of him. His brows knit slightly as Aidan entered him. It looked like Aidan was whispering to him, whether it was sweet nothings or instructions Nora could only guess. Josh kept his eyes closed as Aidan started to thrust, head cocked to the side. Whatever Aidan was saying to him seemed to have his rapt attention. Aidan set a fast pace, which was understandable, since Josh was at work and supposed to be on duty, the more quickly they finished, the better. A couple more minutes of thrusting; Aidan's hands roving over Josh's torso, arms, and hips. Aidan's right hand snaked up over Josh's shoulder to close loosely over Josh's mouth. Josh caught one of Aidan's fingers in this mouth as Aidan repositioned Josh's head back to expose his neck. Aidan dragged his tongue upwards along the side of his roommate's sterno-cleido-mastoideus, pausing at the top. Lips slightly parted, Aidan opened his eyes. And...

That can't be right!

Nora took a closer look, zooming the picture. This has to be a bizarre camera malfunction! He had not stopped and put in contacts, she had seen his eyes before, and they had been plainly visible. But now it appeared as if his eyes had turned completely black. There were no irises visible in Aidan's eyes. No scleras. Her mind reeled, searching in vain for any case references that included black eyes and scrambling for any plausible medical explanation. She was at a complete loss. The physiology of Aidan's eyes had been reconfigured in to something completely foreign. This was crazy!

Aidan's left hand came up around Josh's front, his fingertips running down the same path his tongue just completed. Aidan was looking down, staring at Josh's neck. His mouth opened wider. Nora gasped, her hand flying to her mouth to hold in the cry of alarm she suddenly felt the need to make.

Fangs.

Aidan had Fangs.

Black eyes. And Fangs.

Josh's eyes were closed; he couldn't see what was happening behind him. A numb chill shot through Nora's body; replacing all of her usual nerve endings with much more nervous nerves. Panicked tears sprang to her eyes. Aidan's left fingers pulled the neck of Josh's t-shirt and scrubs to the side, and he bit down into Josh's trapezius. She was going to watch Josh die, she just knew it! His corpse is laying up there right now, cold and empty!

No… Wait! She realized that she had seen the video feed at a later time index, and Josh was still alive. They talk after this!

Aidan's entire body seemed to tighten up, stiffening around Josh before relaxing all over. The fingertips holding off Josh's clothing slid down Josh's arm to pick up Josh's left hand off of the railing and guided it to cover the bite mark. Aidan rested his head against the fingers as he straightened their clothes.

Josh's eyes fluttered open as Aidan stepped back from him, backing up to lean against the wall. Aidan had tucked in his black t-shirt but had not done up his pants. Josh pivoted to face Aidan, his left hand still clamped to his left shoulder to stop the bleeding. He spoke to the darker haired man, something short and seemingly a little too terse to be "wow that was amazing." Aidan looked at him directly, which meant he was facing the camera almost head on. Despite the fact that his eyes were still a solid black, the look on his face was… hurt? Aidan looked down as he spoke to Josh, then turned away to rest his temple on the wall. There was no way she could figure out what he was saying like that! Aidan looked up at Josh, shaking his head a little as he finished talking.

Josh was also animated as he answered him, shaking his head and gesturing with his right hand. Slowly, as Aidan and Josh spoke back and forth, Aidan calmed down markedly. His eyes returned to normal.

Perfectly in synch with one another, both of the men straightened out of their leaning position. Aidan said something quickly to Josh, gesturing towards him, and Josh peeled his fingers off of his shoulder, peeking at the bite mark. Josh said a quick word back to Aidan, Nora guessed he had held it long enough to stop the bleeding. When Josh dropped his hand Aidan took a big breath in, like he was preparing to say something to Josh but didn't know how. Aidan closed his mouth and grimaced slightly, pointing at Josh's left shoulder. Josh looked down and his shoulders dropped and he looked up, rolling his eyes. By the awkward movements that followed, Nora could tell without hearing them that they were having one of those weird conversations filled with aborted attempts at words, nodding, and grunting sounds where they still managed to communicate.

Aidan took off the black t-shirt while Josh took off his scrubs and shirt. They exchanged their t-shirts by tossing them to each other from where they stood. What, guys? Gee, no loving caresses? As Aidan put on Josh's white t-shirt, the camera got a good shot of his chest. There was a tattoo there; yes, now that Nora saw it again she remembered seeing it that night when he was laid up in the basement. But other than the tattoo and a light dusting of hair, there was nothing. No scar from the wicked stab wound she had seen him with almost two weeks before. The skin there was unabraded and healthy. As Aidan smoothed the shirt down his torso, she saw the reason they had exchanged clothes. There was a blood spot on the left side of the neck; some blood must have seeped around Josh's fingers while they were talking. Josh put on Aidan's black t-shirt and his scrub shirt on top of it as Aidan shrugged on his leather jacket, the high collar covering the blood spot on the white shirt.

They quietly exchanged a couple more words. Josh folded his arms as Aidan walked past him, giving Josh a slap on the shoulder before walking out the roof door. Josh lingered there for a few seconds, apparently thinking, and then he startled and looked at his watch. Josh turned and walked quickly down the stairs, going back to work. No goodbye kisses. No clinging to one another. The show was over.

Nora hit the pause button, processing what she had just witnessed. Okay… Aidan was obviously not human. But he didn't really seem like a werewolf either. If she had to put a name to what she saw, she would say Aidan was a vampire, or something close enough to what was understood to be a vampire for there to be no functional difference. It would explain why he had come in through the roof door: he had either turned in to a bat and flown up, or drifted up as a puff of smoke. It also explained all the kissing in the beginning, vampires were probably orally fixated. Which only left the question of why he was sleeping with Josh.

She felt angry at Josh, not only for the lies, but for the lies of omission. She felt more than a little betrayed by his sleeping with Aidan, not only because she had been dead sure there was nothing between them, but because Josh had worked so hard to avoid being that intimate with her. Mostly, she was pissed, because she had NOT ONE reason to take Josh's bullshit...

She had three.

The three scratches on her right forearm could be the delineation mark between being human and being a monster. And unlike their baby that she had carried for so short a time, if this test came up positive this was something she didn't feel she should handle on her own. She had so many questions. She was so scared. But bringing it up before she knew for sure would just be a big old hornet's nest of drama. Just like the baby, she wanted to be sure before telling him. Their relationship was obviously complicated enough. At the very least, he did owe her an explanation for fooling around with Aidan.

She texted him to meet her right away in the break room.

Josh walked in to the break room, a black v-neck t-shirt under his green scrubs. He inhaled in preparation for a greeting, but Nora's steely gaze halted him in his tracks.

"Is there something you want to tell me, Josh?"

Josh had the nerve to look confused.

"Why don't you start with what is going on between you and Aidan." Nora pressed the play button and turned the laptop to face Josh. On the screen, there he was, Aidan standing behind him, thrusting and looking at him with black eyes, fangs out getting ready to bite him.

Josh looked horrified, darting forward bodily to slam the computer closed. "I can explain this..."

Nora waited but nothing more came out. Josh looked trapped and panicked. "Well?"

Josh's body stilled. "I, I, I... I, I don't know where to start."

Nora crossed her arms in front of her, still pinning Josh with her eyes. "You better start somewhere."

Josh's voice sounded defeated. "I was just doing a favor for a friend."

Nora narrowed her eyes, her head craning forward. "A favor?" She opened the laptop, and reset the time index to when Aidan first walked in. "You sure look pretty eager to do that favor!"

Josh shook his head, eyes watching the screen. "That's not me!"

"Oh, what, you have a twin brother? We're suddenly working at General Hospital?"

"No, I mean, I... I think Aidan programmed me to respond to his will when we're... together. That's all him, it's not me." Josh wasn't lying. The whole scene upstairs was replaying on the computer. _Real time. It had been in real time._ He thought it had, but when you know your mind is being manipulated, even little things come into question. His eyes moved from the screen to the woman. He added imploringly, "We're just trying to survive, here!"

Nora sat back in the chair, regrouping herself. "What... Is going... On?"

Josh sighed. His eyes squeezed shut for a moment, before opening and looking at the ground. "In the last two months, Aidan's entire family has been murdered." He looked up at Nora. She looked slightly horrified. "His whole support system has been wiped out."

Josh took a seat. "You see, Aidan's kind, in every major city, form a network, a sort of..." he shook his head and closed his eyes, knowing it was an incredibly ridiculous thing to say, but he forced out the most accurate phrase he could come up with, "super... natural... mob... family." Josh exhaled looking at Nora. She was trying to follow him. He was grateful. "Okay... say I lose track of time, and transform in a supermarket. The wolf kills everyone inside. This family would be the ones to step in, make the security footage disappear, and the official report would state it was a mountain lion that accidently wandered into the store. Hell, they might even plant footage of a mountain lion walking through the automatic doors to show on the news!" Josh raised his eyebrows and inclined his head at Nora, asking her if she was understanding him so far. She nodded.

Josh nodded back at her. "Alright... now, the leader of the Boston family decided to make a power play. He wanted to expose the supernatural world to humans, and fight them for control. Aidan stopped him. The other families stepped in and took care of the rest."

Josh took a deep breath. "And now, the Powers-That-Be have put Aidan in charge of putting Boston back together again."

Here Josh hesitated. He had been meticulously avoiding the word 'Vampire' for fear of sounding too melodramatic, although she had the video evidence right there in the room. "Right now, Aidan is... clean. He doesn't feed off of living people. He is trying hard to survive without killing. But it's a struggle for him, even on the best of days. And putting someone on the wagon under that much pressure... if he messes up... there's no one left in Boston to clean up the bodies, and a mistake like that right now would..." He trailed off, and shook his head. "We could both lose everything."

He looked at Nora, who didn't look happy, but was at least willing to hear him out and understand what he was saying before making any decisions.

Although he still didn't feel the need for her to know everything, Josh really wanted her to understand that his intentions here were good ones. "I would like to believe that I am a good enough friend that I would be there for him, regardless of any personal interest. I am the only living person he has left here. I don't think a little support," he indicated the laptop, still playing the video for his benefit, "is too much to ask for. And he didn't ask me, by the way, I volunteered. I told him that if he got stressed out enough that he felt he might lose control and hurt someone, and if he needed to blow off a little steam, to use me." Josh sighed. "Rule one: no one gets hurt," he recited, the phrase sounding so well-practiced it could practically repeat itself on muscle memory alone, without conscious direction from him. He looked off vaguely to the side. "I knew if I could get him to come to me, then he would tell me what was really wrong, and it would give me a chance to talk it through with him and really help him."

Nora scoffed and shook her head. _Yeah, I know… _she thought sarcastically, _it's so hard to get your man to have a good, honest talk with you!_

Josh's eyes came to rest on the video display, Aidan was licking a line straight up his neck, and then seemed to say something into his ear. Josh felt his eyes narrow, and brows knit in confusion. Odd. Aidan hadn't spoken a word aloud, not until their talk after. Aidan's dark brown eyes opened. He lifted his head up a little, looking towards Josh's face. Aidan's lips moved again, and this time the camera angle was good enough that he caught the vampire's lips forming the words: "You're cute when you can't lie for shit." Josh felt a small shock go through him. Aidan had been silently mouthing sweet nothings behind him. It was oddly touching, considering that under the circumstances, 'I want to drain you dry and fuck your corpse for a week' would not have surprised or offended him. That Aidan had come to him, not only for a little stress relief in a living body, but wanting to lose himself in his best friend in particular, and had been thinking of Josh in reverent terms, only reinforced Josh's feeling that this has been the right course of action. It mattered to Aidan that it was Josh.

Josh looked back at Nora. "But if you need a better reason, a more selfish reason, here it is: Aidan's kind typically aren't big fans of werewolves. If the new regime is formed without Aidan to put me off limits to the others, I could be run out of Boston, put down, or worse. So I hope you can understand, Nora, that this isn't exactly a situation where I can just put my arm around my best girl and tell Aidan 'well, good luck with that!' He and I need each other right now to survive."

On the screen, Aidan's eyes were open, blackened orbs. The cast of his eyelids suggested he was watching the blood flow in Josh's neck. He glanced up at Josh's face, fangs extending. His eyes dropped back down immediately, longingly, as he pulled Josh's white t-shirt and scrubs aside and unable to hold himself back anymore as he reached his apex, moved forward as if Josh's skin were magnetized, teeth slipping in to puncture, then luxuriating in the feel of blood seeping up around his fangs, he rode out his orgasm. Aidan's hips stilled, he took his fangs out of his best friend and he brought his lips together, still on Josh's skin. His left hand picked up Josh's left hand from the railing, and moving his head out of the way, he pressed Josh's fingertips over the punctures. Aidan rested his forehead on Josh's fingers as he righted their clothes. On the video, Josh's eyes opened.

As Josh sat at the table watching his afternoon replaying on the screen, he followed the conversation between himself and Aidan.

On the computer monitor, Josh turned away from the camera and asked, "What happened?"

Aidan looked down. "The Dutch." He rested his temple on the wall. "They said if I couldn't get things running soon, that I would need to start just… turning people." He turned to Josh, shaking his head. "This is so not good!"

The idea didn't sit well with Josh. "That sounds like a really horrible idea! No matter how sharp you can make a learning curve, there are still always mistakes in the beginning." He swung his right arm up in an arc, demonstrating a curve. "And I am not sure that replacing no one with a bunch of fumbling fledglings is going to be a workable improvement." He paused to search his mind. "Surely vampires have to move around from time to time? I mean you can't sit next to the same person on the bus for 80 years, right?" Aidan shrugged and nodded, so Josh went on. "And there are other vampire families based in other cities, right? And some of you are ruled by the same elders, so there's no like… clan wars?" Another nod and shrug from the vampire. "Good! Alright then!" Josh said. "Then why can't you call them up, put the word out that you need a few good vampires? You don't need to be alone in this!"

And off they went, discussing vampire politics, and how vampires typically hid themselves in a city full of people who may possibly recognize them from too long before.

Nora finally spoke up. "How long is it going to take Aidan to do this?"

Josh answered honestly. "I don't know. We need the network back in place as soon as possible. Like yesterday! Right now, Boston is wide open and any supernatural yahoo who wants to wreak some havoc to grab the headlines, or thinks they can take over the world like the last guy did, is gonna come here to do it." He shook his head. "We're basically sitting ducks, here."

"This wasn't your first time together." Nora accused.

"Uh, no, it was our second. The first time was because someone was trying to kill us by locking us in together when I transformed. They were hoping I would kill him. Or... that he would kill me to protect himself. He had to get my scent on him so the wolf…" He trailed off, his inner TMI detector had just tripped. "It was a miracle we both survived," he mumbles dismissively.

On the screen, Josh was bouncing a pointing hand at Aidan. "What do you want to bet that the blood den is like a vampire Pizza Hut?"

Aidan was laughing a little, looking at Josh like he was a little nuts. "You think it's a franchise?" Josh nodded back at him.

Nora called Josh's attention back to the present. "What did you mean when you said he programmed you?"

Josh's eyes slid away from the computer screen. He had felt it clearly this time. It had greeted his mind the instant Aidan had appeared. "The first time, he hypnotized me, gave me a set of specific instructions… to make it easier. We were best friends. Our relationship was... very platonic. He knew I couldn't have gone from OCD housemate to willing bedmate without some serious reprogramming. And after we both survived the night, we were able to go straight back to being just housemates. I thought the programming had faded away on its own, since it wasn't being used. But, I think it's still there, I felt it this time... There was sort of a... log on request. And all I had to do is let him in, let him move me. It, it's not words, it's not instructions, it's not feelings, it's like... trying to catch and harmonize with a mental motion." Josh closed his eyes and began to sway back and forth, his hand relaxed as it artistically sketched the sign for infinity in front of him, looking as if he were both listening to, and conducting, a lullaby: Aidan's song. "It's more relaxing than anything. He was… He was just making it easier for me to help him." Josh was a little amazed he had explained this out loud, but he was really explaining it to himself for the first time. He hadn't really been given any time to reflect and break down the odd experience, let alone how to explain it in a shorter, more vague way to someone else.

Nora didn't buy that so she just moved on. "Could he 'mess up' with you? Could he kill you?"

Josh answered as if it were the most obvious answer in the world. "Yeah. Of course."

Nora's eyes narrowed, trying to fathom why Josh would volunteer himself for something so stupid. _I'm sleeping with a guy who could kill me so we'll both be safe? What kinda crap logic was this? Leave it to a man to come up with something so asinine!_ She was suddenly willing to bet that all the forethought that Josh had put into this was Maybe Me Get Laid.

"Look, when the moon is full, I am stronger than he is. Right now, I am not much stronger than a normal person, but I am a LITTLE stronger than a normal person. I'm still the better choice."

Nora silently surveyed Josh, the hurt and disappointment evident in her eyes.

"Everyone in their brothel has been killed, Nora, I am the only one left who can help him!"

Nora looked away.

Josh whispered, "I'm his best friend!"

Nora's eyes dropped shut for a moment, and she looked off to the other side of her.

Josh's body suddenly felt still and heavy. "I am so sorry I hurt you. But can't you see this was the only way for me to keep my life here? It was the only way for me to make sure I got to stay here... with you."

For a long moment, Nora closed her eyes again. When they opened, she was looking straight at Josh. Her voice was calm and quiet. "When all this is over, we'll talk again. But right now, this just isn't something I can deal with."

Numbly, Josh pursed his lips and nodded.

Nora's last request was a simple one. "Please go."

Josh nodded again, slowly. Without thought, his hand reached out in front of him to hit the eject button on the laptop's DVD player. The drawer popped open, the disc inside still spinning. Sending an apologetic look at Nora, he pocketed the disc, and quietly left her sitting there alone.


	7. RoRChapter06

"So can ya Bob like Dylan on my Peter like Criss,  
'Til it's Chubby like Checker c'mon baby do the twist!  
It's all in the wrist, like table tennis,  
So beat me, like Betty Crocker cake mix!"  
-Yummy Down On This, Hooray for Boobies. The Bloodhound Gang.

Reciprocity of Ratiocination.

Chapter 6: It Takes Two to Tango.

Aidan was up in his bedroom when Josh got home from work.

"Nora knows."

Aidan's eyes snapped up to meet his own. Josh nodded. "She saw us on the security camera feed." Josh took the DVD out of his pocket, tossed it on to the dresser. After the last one of Rebecca's, he sure never thought he would be the star of the next vampire porno that came in to this house! "We have got to stop meeting like that in front of security cameras!"

The vampire's face looked stricken. "Josh, I am so sorry!"

"I told her how it was, that it was just temporary. I tried to explain it as best I could. I think she doesn't fully understand it, but... we might be able to salvage things… after."

The vampire looked compassionate and sad. He got up and walked to Josh, stopping about a foot and a half away and crossing his arms. "You know I couldn't have done this without your help."

Josh's body stance relaxed, and he gave a small shrug. "I know... but as far as Nora goes... you're out of the closet. She saw everything!"

Aidan nodded. If Nora and Josh were going to continue being an item, it was probably best she know. People could live with only so much mystery before they break out the baseball bats and torches looking for some good old fashioned answers. It was okay that Nora had some idea of what was going on, the time needed to get it all sorted back out between all of them wouldn't be that long of a wait. This afternoon wasn't a total loss; he had some good news for Josh. "We could have the blood den back up and running in about two weeks."

Josh perked up, a mischievous smile on his face. "It IS a Vampire Pizza Hut, isn't it?

Aidan gave a little laugh. "Yeah, pretty much." Turns out the blood den's residents are supplied to many locations by only two different agencies, and both have offices worldwide. One call to both, and they were back in business.

Josh looked in to Aidan's eyes. Josh could now trump his sister with an honest 'Pfft, I've slept with a dude!' He would, you know, drop his voice on the last word, add an extra E and drawl it, 'de-ude.' Emily wasn't the paragon of human sexuality just because she was a lesbian. But Josh couldn't help but feel... well... "cheated" seemed like an ungrateful word to use. Aidan had been extremely generous, had gone easy on Josh, always taking the lead so that Josh only needed to submissively follow to give his friend what he needed, with no real participation necessary on Josh's part. Just because Josh preferred women, that didn't mean he was homophobic, or that he didn't want to contribute any type of momentum to the first real sexual relations he had since he had been turned. All the same, Josh did feel cheated because he felt Aidan had gone too easy on him, protected him from too much. He was a grown man; he didn't want to be coddled! And now, having been with a man, he wanted the full experience of being with a man. Hell, he practically had Nora's permission!

Josh whispered, "Go with me," and pressed his lips to the vampire's. Just like that, they were kissing. Aidan's arms uncrossed and his hands found Josh's waist. Josh felt no trace of Aidan's song in his head now; not a single note. This was Aidan giving Josh the choice, Aidan giving Josh the control, and Josh understood that his friend needed this, too; needed to be assuaged that this little arrangement of theirs wasn't all just his supernatural razzle-dazzle coupled with a healthy dose of self-delusion. He had been working so hard at rebuilding the Boston Empire, every move planned and calculated, his shields up, body language clamped down, and the eyes in the back of his head darting from side to side in an ever-present vigil to watch out for trouble, that the cogs in his brain were practically shrieking under the pressure to get everything right.

Josh pulled back just long enough to whip off Aidan's t-shirt, clamping his mouth back onto the other man's with enthusiasm as he tackled the task of removing the tight jeans, all while maneuvering his roommate backwards towards his bed. He had Aidan's pants unbuttoned and unzipped when Josh had a brainstorm. Let's see… Aidan is right handed… Josh ran his left hand along the front of Aidan's pants, finding his right pocket and snagging a tube of lubricant that they had made use of earlier in the day from the inside. He slid his thumbs into the side of the tighty-whitey type underwear Aidan was wearing, (blue this time), and pulled the undies and pants down together before giving his friend a gentle shove to sit him on the bed.

The vampire finished divesting himself of all his clothing while the younger man removed all the clothing from his own lower body. It was fully dressed, or nude, because let's be honest… having sex completely nude except for shoes looks, well, gay. Josh straddled Aidan's hips, tipping the older man's head nearly all the way back to kiss him. The thought came to him that if there were to be a drawing of the pose they were in now submitted to the Supernatural Kama Sutra, it would have to be subtitled Wolf Superior. Another utterly random thought replaced that one: this room, this bed, was most likely the last place Sally had made love while she was still living, with Danny. Josh rallied himself: Clear your mind, buddy! Let's not go there!

Josh pulled back slightly, this felt good, but now that his mind was wondering a bit, doubts and fears were creeping back in. "I don't want to hurt you," passed his lips in a panting, breathy whisper to Aidan.

Aidan's answer was quick and automatic. "Hurt me, I'm cool with it."

It brought Josh up short for a moment. He opened his eyes and looked at Aidan, unsure he had heard his friend correctly.

The vampire looked up at Josh, eyes serious. "Really," Aidan assured him. He moved his head forward a little, and Josh dove back into the kiss with renewed fervor.

Josh was glad he had changed at work in to a faux button down shirt that fastened with snaps, it left more time to kiss Aidan like there was no tomorrow… Because of course, as far as their arrangement went, this activity was a limited time engagement. There was something a little liberating in that, it was like a free-pass time-window with no long-reaching consequences. Ah, there, skin on skin everywhere, that felt wonderful! He pushed at Aidan, signaling him to move backwards to settle fully on the bed. Josh strategically used his friend's shifting motions to switch leg positions with him, now Aidan was on his back, Josh neatly settled between his legs.

Dropping the lube on the bed to free up his hands, he placed his palms flat against the outside of Aidan's knees and ran them slowly up Aidan's body; enjoying the feel of the vampire's cool, resilient skin against his own warm fingertips. He tugged Aidan's arms up over his head to rest against the pillow, his hands ending their journey by interlacing his fingers with Aidan's, his full weight holding the other man down as their tongues lapped against one another.

Josh moved his knees up underneath the back of Aidan's thighs, taking his own weight somewhat and shifting Aidan's hips into a more open position. He pressed smaller kisses to Aidan's lips as he unlaced their fingers, pinning the older man's arms with his fingertips and sending a level look into his eyes. The vampire smiled and settled back, content to let his best friend take the lead. Aidan's eyes drifted closed as Josh began to pepper his face with kisses, slowly moving down to explore with lips and fingertips. The werewolf licked and sucked lightly at his nipples, kissed each one of the vampires ribs, traced each abdominal muscle with his tongue… nuzzled into the course, masculine hair on Aidan's chest and abdomen. Aidan's skin smelled and tasted clean, he had gone back to the Dutch after their interlude in the upstairs hallway, and that meant he took the mother of all showers to wash off the scent of the werewolf so as not to upset the orthodox oldsters. Josh wanted to feel that skin between his teeth, feeling the living elasticity of it and mark it as his. He resisted doing it. It was the wolf. He didn't want to be a wolf.

Even back when he was human, Josh had always been at least a little curious what the experience was like for women when they fellated a man. Sure... Josh was glad he was a dude, and didn't have to do it himself, but he was a little... curious... all the same. Seeing as he was currently sexually involved with another man now, it seemed like a good time to find out. He kissed at the soft skin of his friend's lower abdomen, and blew lightly against the hard cock. It jumped slightly, eager for him. Josh smiled. Starting at the base, he pressed a line of kisses up the underside as it lay erect against the older man's belly. Josh enjoyed Aidan's soft gasp as Josh's tongue glided out to taste the head. Aidan's hands buried themselves in Josh's hair as Josh gently gathered the turgid sex into his right hand to guide the cock smoothly into his mouth.

Aidan's penis felt bigger and much more substantial in his mouth than Josh had expected. It felt as if it were pulsing with life, tasting clean like the rest of his friend's vampiric body. (Somehow, when it was inside of his rectal cavity, it felt thinner and longer. And although Josh had not anticipated doing THIS today, he was glad he had taken a few minutes to give himself a quick rectal rinse in the bathroom before meeting Aidan at the hospital earlier.) Josh moaned, taking in all he could. He took up a bobbing motion with his head; long slow strokes. Josh was surprised at the way the tip of Aidan's cock would pick up mucus in the back of Josh's throat; the mucus we forget is there all of the time and not just when we are sick, so that he could taste it on the up strokes. It was a small marvel to him. Women did this all the time, his fiancé Julia used to do this for him, and all this time, he had not known what every woman knew, that this was part of blowing a guy. Josh being Josh, he tried to be tidy and not slobber all over the place. He found out quickly that this didn't work out very well, the air would immediately dry (or partially dry, making it tacky) what little moisture was left on the skin while he was varying his strokes, and he would have to work up the saliva to rewet the area so he could do long strokes again. So leaving a good amount of saliva was the easiest way to go. Somehow, the logistics of a blow job never seemed so complicated when he was getting one. If there was ever an event that deserved a participation ribbon...

Josh let the tip slip through his lips, and turned his head sideways to drag his tongue down the underside to lick and suck at his friend's testicles. The scrotum was soft and pliable against his tongue, he lapped the whole sack into his mouth to warm and massage it gently. He hummed lightly, hoping the minute vibrations would please the recipient. The werewolf expelled it from his mouth gently, lapping at it like a kitten. He licked at Aidan's perineum, working his way down until his questing tongue found its goal, the little rosebud of muscle guarding the entrance to Aidan's body. The flavor here was tart, a bit more on the sour side than the sweet, but not at all unpleasant, and a little dangerous, because it was a taste he could get used to, enjoy… crave. Josh attacked it with gusto, worming his tongue as far inside as he could force it to go while he sucked with his lips, his sudden enthusiasm arousing and amusing Aidan.

Josh would have been happy to continue on for an hour, exploring with different angles and strokes, but tongue fatigue set in far too quickly. He found the tube of lubricant. Warm slick fingers replaced the werewolf's questing tongue. Josh tried to copy the movements that Aidan had used on him, one fingertip going in circles, loosening the muscle enough to add more fingers. It was a fascinating sight to his eyes, watching Aidan opening before him, but he was here to contribute and participate. He started to mouth Aidan's sack again, and worked his way up his friend's length with little licks and suckling kisses. He sucked on the head of Aidan's cock, attempting to coax it into his mouth without the use of his left hand. He managed it, but it was a little awkward, so he ended up having to free his hand from under him to use it anyway. This would probably be easier if he went at Aidan from beside him (more elbow room that way) but he didn't want to do a major reposition just now, and compromising by straddling Aidan's right leg would feel too much to him like he was humping the leg like a dog. No, he didn't want to go there! Between Aidan's legs is where he wanted to be in the end, anyway. He sucked hard and at the same time, licked at the head like it was a wondrously delicious ice cream. Josh continued on in this manner until Aidan pushed him back quickly.

"You're getting me too close," was Aidan's breathy explanation.

"Are you ready?" Josh asked him gently. Getting a nod from Aidan, Josh moved his body up to hover over his friend, their lips meeting first. As Josh sank into the kiss, he let his body settle onto Aidan's, coming to rest with the tip of his shaft pressing up against that painstakingly opened orifice. Breaking the kiss and resting his temple against Aidan's, he pushed gently inside of the warm, tight sheath of Aidan's body. He felt Aidan arch up slightly, felt Aidan's hands pressing against his sides and Aidan's calves against the back of his thighs, holding them closer.

Josh held himself up on his elbows as he started to rock back and forth with his whole body; making sure to stimulate Aidan's sex with his abdomen as he thrust. His lips found the vampire's skin, and Josh planted little kisses down the vampire's cheek and neck. Josh felt his mouth open, wanting to bite. His body tightened for the barest moment, and he gave his head a shake, hoping to dislodge that thought, that urge, loose out of his mind.

Aidan felt the tension and noticed the head shake. Aidan himself did that when his nose was full of blood scent and his mind was filling with blood lust. He felt Josh lay a string of kisses along his collarbone; resettling with his head on Aidan's other side. The sprinkling of kisses continued, until Aidan felt teeth on his skin (to which Aidan's body responded with enthusiasm) and then he felt Josh give another jump and a shake of his head. Aidan could tell Josh was holding himself back for some reason, but didn't know exactly why. With one hand, he pushed Josh's torso back, with the other he guided Josh's face to his for a hard, deep kiss. He was trying to tell Josh that it was okay, whatever Josh wanted was okay, and that he wasn't going to break.

Deciding that removing temptation was the best way to avoid it, Josh pushed himself up on his haunches, sliding his bent knees under his partner's thighs. Thrusting from a kneeling position, Josh took Aidan's member in his hand, pumping it in time with his slow, deliberate thrusts. It was a strange sensation to be in his lover and have a penis in front of him to grab on to, as if his own cock were longer and threaded up through Aidan's body. Amazing, the twisted thoughts that can go through your mind when you are sexually engaged, even more amazing is how they can turn you on instead of freak you out!

Josh leaned forward, placing his free hand over Aidan's solar plexus. He sped up the thrusting of both his hips and his hand, concentrating on the sound and feel of Aidan's panting, of how good it felt after so very long to have a partner, naked and writhing and panting underneath him.

Aidan whispered Josh's name as a warning, and let the orgasm roll through him, feeling his body tightening around his friend.

Josh watched his best friend's cock pulsing in his hand. It was an incredible feeling, knowing he had caused it. It was a measurable accomplishment, a visual and quantifiable result. He knew he was being a silly man, feeling proud of the results of his efforts, but it was an awesome moment, seeing his best friend come unglued all because of little old him. Still buried inside of the vampire, Josh felt the contractions of Aidan's pelvic floor, and he felt a little unglued himself. He tumbled over the edge, cumming hard deep inside of his friend. He let his upper body come down to rest his forehead on Aidan's shoulder. It felt so good. To think, all that name calling in the locker rooms and bible thumping and fury of condemnation from closed minded people were all over what he had just done here, with Aidan. The reality of the act seemed very disproportionate to the negative hype. They were just two people alone in their home. It seemed unfathomable that anyone would bother themselves to work up a care, let alone a tizzy of judgment.

Josh sighed and turned his head, pressing his cheek into Aidan's skin. His mind cleared and he suddenly came back to himself. He was on his knees, still inside his best friend, his hand wrapped around the other man's genitalia, semen coating them both. He didn't have an exit strategy. What had he been thinking? How is he going to get out of this bed without making more of a mess and looking incredibly awkward?

Aidan's hands slid up Josh's arms, one hand caressing his upper back, the other hand sliding fingers through his hair. The grip tightened, an affectionate little squeeze holding Josh in place for a moment before the hands moved to Josh's shoulders, gently pushing down.

Josh went with the movement, sliding out of Aidan's body with an involuntary shiver, his clean hand coming down to cup his newly liberated penis to avoid dripping on the sheets. He did a flip over Aidan's leg to land on the bed, one hand still holding on to his genitalia, the other held away from the sheets and balled in to a loose fist. He wiggled and pushed himself up further up the mattress with his heels to reach his head to the pillow without use of his hands. He looked over at his roommate, taking in Aidan's soft brown eyes and warm smile.

Aidan assessed Josh. He was quiet. He seemed a little embarrassed and unsure what to do with himself. Aidan guessed that Josh hadn't planned this, but acted in the moment. But still, this experience had given Aidan an idea and it was an opportunity that Aidan wasn't going to pass up. Aidan rolled off of his bed, heading for the door. He wanted to talk about this with Josh while Josh was still calm in the afterglow, his emotional walls as dropped as they were going to get. He could see Josh looking towards his clothing on the floor. "Stay!" Aidan implored him, but when Josh shot him a perturbed look, he realized it sounded like a command you would give to a dog, so he amended, "please... jus'... don't move!" The vampire went into the bathroom, cleaned himself off with a wash cloth, rinsed a fresh one, and brought both back for Josh. In the bedroom, he handed Josh the clean cloth for his hands. When Aidan moved to use the other cloth to clean Josh's front, Josh objected.

He gave Aidan a quiet "I can do that!"

"It's okay, I'm a nurse!" Aidan shot back, trying for charming. He dove in, handling Josh's kit with aplomb.

Josh narrowed his eyes, blushing. "I'm an orderly. I clean things for a living!"

Aidan finished his task, shrugging at the orderly. "Then I'll let you make the bed." He conceded.

Dropping the used cloths on his discarded shirt, Aidan lay back down in the bed and pulled the sheet up to their waists. He grabbed a pillow and made himself comfortable facing Josh. The vampire blamed himself a little for what just happened. He certainly wasn't going to reject the werewolf, fragile male ego and all that, and Aidan was becoming highly aware he hadn't reciprocated at all when he had taken Josh up on his standing offer earlier that afternoon. But, be fair! '_Use Me_' didn't exactly scream '_make sure I get off, too_!' Josh hadn't seemed at all like he was miffed at Aidan for leaving him hanging during their conversation afterwards. It's not that Aidan minded getting a little extra sex, but with a best friend and previously platonic (And future planned platonic!) roommate, things could get messy. Aside from all that… this was the first time Aidan really got a feel for what Josh was like in bed. This was the first time he had let Josh initiate, the first time they were together when lives didn't hang in the balance. From what Aidan had just witnessed, he was starting to get a better understanding of why Josh had just gone through a two year dry spell. He really felt for the guy.

"Why were you afraid you would hurt me?" Aidan asked softly.

The werewolf's eyes closed as his head shook slightly. Then his eyes and mouth opened, the eyes moving around the room and the mouth, still. Abandoning the floundering, Josh gave an answer that had the ring of an honest confession. "I just don't know what could happen."

"Worst case scenario?"

"The wolf will take over and attack and I won't be able to stop it."

Aidan could certainly understand that fear! "Do you feel like you might attack?"

"I don't know!" Josh looked at Aidan intensely. "I growl. I had no idea that I growled until the first time I was making out with Nora! I didn't feel it coming on, I didn't decide to do it, I don't do it when I'm getting myself off, but I growl when I'm with other people. It just comes out of me! That first time with you in the cage, I bit you. Same thing… I didn't feel it coming on, I didn't decide to do it, but it happened! That time I was with Nora, that ONE TIME I was with Nora, I lost control. I was less than a half an hour from turning, and she was alone with me, and asking me if I was attracted to her, and I… I lost control, and I hurt her. Not in that moment, but…" Josh gave a little sigh, looking away. He remembered waking up smelling her blood, the blood of their baby. "I hurt her," he said in a softer voice.

"Did Ray say anything to you, give you any warnings?"

Looking back at Aidan, Josh answered ruefully, "Oh, uh, well… he asked me if I BANGED a lot of women around the full moon… he bragged that women love the wolf." Josh briefly put on an exaggerated, thoughtful frown, looking up and to the right as if he were racking his brain. He gave a quick, dismissive shake of his head, his tone sarcastically light, "But, uh, nope… no warnings!"

Aidan nodded. "When a human is turned into a vampire, everything about them becomes supercharged. Sexuality changes drastically, because it's not just about enjoying a little company and getting off, suddenly when they're close to another person like that, feeling their warmth and smelling their blood, it causes their whole body to scream to feed. It's like an irresistible force a nature. Pure instinct. Pure strength. If you haven't been taught to expect it, it's overwhelming, confusing… frightening... and can only end one way. So when a new vampire is made, if the maker cares anything for doing a good job of it, as part of their training, they will get the initiate comfortable with all aspects of their new life."

"So all vampires sleep with their makers?"

The older man shook his head. "Not all. The task can be passed off to another vampire if either the maker or child would prefer it be someone else."

It crossed Josh's mind to ask Aidan if Bishop had overseen Aidan's sex training himself, but he already knew the answer to that one. It had been so obvious when Josh saw the two of them together that they had been lovers.

"I blame Ray for this, Josh." Aidan's voice was low and serious, but empathetic. "You were made badly."

Josh felt that statement resonate with all the frustration, disappointment and anguish he had already carried towards the loss of his humanity. It was just one more reason to hate the wolf… and Ray.

Aidan supportively wrapped his hand around Josh's upper arm, and went on, "Tell you what. Since I've taken you up on your generous offer, I'll extend to you one of my own. Right now, optimistically, it's looking like we will have a little over two weeks until the network is back up. So, for the duration of our time limit, I am offering to put you through your werewolf sex training. I don't know exactly what a werewolf needs, but I'm sure between the two of us, we can figure something out that'll work." Aidan took in the subtly panicked look on Josh's face. "You don't have to answer now. Just think about it. Okay?"

Josh gave a single hesitant nod.

Aidan gave Josh his best gently reassuring smile. "You're alright?"

Josh's face relaxed into a self-deprecating smile of his own as he nodded to Aidan again.

As Aidan moved forward to kiss Josh's lips, from the foot of the bed they heard a loud, "OH MY GOD, AIDAN!" Sally's voice sounded scandalized and thrilled all that the same time. She laughed. "Caught you with your hand in the cookie jar!"

Aidan backed away from Josh to give a good natured, but pointed, look directed at their deadest friend. She remained unintimidated, twirling around and laughing, teasingly with her joined hands tipped sideways to point a single wiggling finger at him.

"You know… I thought ghosts could make knocking sounds?" prompted Aidan, trying to turn this back on Sally.

Sally didn't go for it. "I knew you wouldn't keep your hands off him," she snickered.

"So we're blaming me for this?" He asked her, and then looked over to Josh for clarification.

Josh pulled the sheet up further on his body. "Yeah, Aidan! Show a little control!" Josh chided, and his eyes fixed on the wall in the opposite direction of his friend, so he would miss the look Aidan was going to give HIM.

"Fine," Aidan pronounced. He could take it. "So what have you been up to?" He asked Sally.

Sally rolled her eyes, blowing air noisily through her lips. "Just wandering around, doing a big, fat nothing. I'm bored! Let's go out, all three of us!"

Aidan looked resigned. "Where do you want to go?"

"I don't know. Someplace new… someplace fun." Sally's irritated tone belied a small tinge of desperation.

"I could look up the city social calendar, see if anything's going on tonight," Josh helpfully volunteered.

"Great!" Sally said brightly. "Get dressed and meet me downstairs in ten minutes." She turned around, disappearing in to thin air. She reappeared a fraction of a second later. "Make that five minutes!" She amended, and repeated her exit.

After staring dumbly at the spot she had been standing for a few long seconds, the two men looked at one another, each taking a breath and raising his eyebrows. Aidan said "okay" at the same time Josh said "yeah." Aidan handed Josh his clothes, and each of them got dressed sitting on their side of the bed, facing away from each other.

Wordlessly, they went downstairs to join their house mate.


	8. RoRChapter07

"Said her name was Bambi.  
And I said, "Well that's a coincidence darlin',  
'cause I was just thinkin' about skinnin' you like a deer."  
Well, she smiled…"  
- A Lap Dance Is So Much Better When the Stripper is Crying,  
Hooray for Boobies. The Bloodhound Gang.

Reciprocity of Ratiocination.

Chapter 7: Kind Of In the Closet.

A couple of days had passed. Nora found herself standing out in the hallway during her shift, gazing at Josh, who was mopping up over in the cross-corridor. You would never suspect, she was thinking, looking at him, just what sort of things are happening in this guy's life. She might not agree with the way Josh was going about things, but she knew enough to be scared for each of them for different reasons. Nora just wanted for this to be all over, and all of them safe. She said a silent and fervent prayer for all of them.

Unaware he was under casual observation; Josh's mind was wandering as he went through the calming ritual of performing his routine menial tasks. He knew Aidan thought he should let the wolf come out and play instead of fighting it back when they were in bed. The thought scared Josh a little, he was afraid to lose himself too much, allow the wolf to go too far and damage his relationship with his best friend. This whole Aidan-Is-Your-Mate thing was a lot easier to ignore when they weren't ... mating.

The truth was that the wolf was strongly attracted to Aidan. It loved that Aidan was a predator like itself, a good hunter and talented killer. The vampire was strong and quick: it made him a worthy companion. The things Aidan hated about himself, the things that made Josh wisely wary of his friend during the usual course of their everyday lives, were wildly arousing to Josh when they were naked, and hard, and coupling. What the wolf really wanted to do was to hole the two of them up in their den. It wanted to bathe and groom Aidan from head to toe; tasting, licking and claiming every inch of his body. The wolf would mount Aidan often, and feed the vampire from himself so the wolf could smell his own scent from inside the other man's body; scent mark the older man from both the inside and out, and own him completely. All that same time, the wolf would be basking in Aidan's scent as well, so by the time they emerged, their scents would be so completely mingled they would smell like the same creature. Wanted. Accepted. Bonded. (Goddamn Aidan! He was turning Josh's bad ass wolf into a cock hound!)

But Josh being Josh, he couldn't help but worry that being out of practice and way less experienced than the vampire, that Aidan would lose interest in him as a friend because he was a lousy lay. Or what if he found himself licking Aidan's hair or something, only to be treated to weird looks from the vampire over the rim of mugs of blood in the mornings. No, Josh decided, Aidan wouldn't be that petty. Josh trusted him. But what would it do to their friendship, when their time limit was up and they had to go back to being the way they were before?

Then again, Josh considered, maybe the older man's monster wanted Josh for the same reasons Josh's wolf wanted Aidan. After over two hundred years of human and vampire lovers, perhaps it's refreshing to explore something new, something dangerous that he's never had before: a werewolf lover. And if Josh were honest with himself, wolf-like grooming behaviors weren't his biggest concern. He had no idea what could happen when he was in an intimate situation with someone. After all the times he gotten himself off since he was turned, it wasn't until he was getting serious with Nora that he found himself growling. His first time with Aidan, Josh had lost control, and the wolf went into hunting mode.

He had been a gentle lover when he was human. He had just been a normal guy, loving women's bodies, wanting the feeling of all that soft, naked skin against his own. The curves of a woman, the feel of being inside of her had been enough to satisfy him. But after he got turned, he noticed more primal emotions intertwining his fantasies: possession, dominance... control. Josh found himself aroused by the idea of more violent couplings, of holding the woman immobile as he rode her with short hard thrusts, her cries and struggles heightening his pleasure. The wolf found that imagery powerfully compelling; connecting it to the moment of the hunt when it had chased and conquered its prey, its mouth on its victim's throat, blood running down its muzzle: the pleasure of being the victor in that life and death struggle. (Which is why he got so turned on by watching Nova... Those fucking hunting scenes!)

Maybe Aidan was right. All Josh needed was good old fashioned practice with someone whom he couldn't hurt. Give himself the space to sort out the reality of being with a lover from the wolf's gory yearnings. It was a sweet offer, and well intentioned, but bad timing. With everything else that was going on, his sex life was not priority number one. They should keep things simple. He and Aidan should just stick to the plan, and no more, he decided.

Still gazing in Josh's direction, Aidan came into Nora's view, wearing his street clothes and walking with some momentum, grasping the front of Josh's scrubs and moving him backwards a step or two to bump into the wall, while at the same time, grasping and turning the knob to the supply room door. Aidan swung the door open, and moved through, pulling the younger man along the wall and into the room in his wake. The mop handle caught on the door's trim, and was left behind; looking for all the world like it had been balanced there purposefully. The automatic closing mechanism mounted at the top of the door closed the door quietly behind them.

Nora blinked. Looked around. No one had seen. It took all of three seconds for Aidan to make both he and Josh disappear. And the world didn't notice. Was she noticing, she wondered, because she had fallen through the veil and straight into the hidden world? Or simply because she had been looking in the right direction at the right time? I mean, sometimes they did have to deliberately hide things from the public, Josh had said. Their world seemed large and frightening. It was a world in which she wanted no part. She was worried for Josh. She still had her rounds to finish, but she resolved to stay alert. If Aidan "messed up," and a code was called on Josh, she would be ready to rush back here to help.

Josh had no warning Aidan was coming: One moment mopping up, then a glimpse of his roommate, followed by a thump, a slide, and dark. Oh, he was smooth, this one. Aidan guided him effortlessly around the shelves to the back corner of the room. Josh's eyes adjusted to the dim light, finding Aidan's form in front of him, facing him. He tried to find Aidan's eyes, but then gave up on that one; Aidan's eyes weren't there: Vampire black out.

The voice was smooth and lilting. "Hi Josh!"

Josh's body warmed to Aidan's presence, a thrill he attempted to tamp down; he looked off to the side briefly, cleared his throat. He could feel himself getting hard, and tried to keep himself in check. It was a little embarrassing how responsive his programming could make him to Aidan's proximity and moods, at moments like these it was just enough to make him feel kinda whorish. He wasn't fighting the programing itself, just trying to keep a little control of his outward responses. He kept his tone light. "Hi Aidan."

"Having a good day, so far?" The vampire asked.

"Yeah… doing good so far." Then, more pointedly, "How has YOUR day been?"

Aidan smiled. "Oh, it's been good, it's been really good!"

Josh smelled liquor on his friend's breath. He decided to forge ahead with the obvious question, with even more obvious subtext. "Have you been drinking?"

Aidan let go of Josh's scrubs to place that hand over his own heart, sliding his flat palm sideways across the left side of his chest, and then flipping his hand over to face the palm forward alongside of his body: Honest Injun. "Only bourbon, I swear it."

The swearing hand darted up to catch Josh's neck and sweep him forward, pulling their bodies together, Aidan's head dipping to kiss his way up the side of Josh's neck, taking his pulse with lips on one side and fingertips on the other.

Aidan murmured silkily in Josh's ear. "You know… I've been thinking. Poor Josh… all the stress of being a vampire's consort... and none of the perks." Aidan moved him gently back, pressing him against the shelving unit before closing his mouth over the other man's in a passionate kiss. Josh felt his best friend's hand slip up under his shirt, untie his scrub pants, and slip inside.

Josh had been planning to protest. No people getting eaten, and them not being run out of town or killed, was perk enough for continuing on with this plan. Showing up at their work half drunk and all vampy was not smart. What was Aidan thinking? But when he felt Aidan's cool fingers wrap around his hard cock, he thought: "eh, what the hell?" He HAD volunteered for this after all. Maybe vampires just couldn't help themselves but be playful and capricious lovers, who at the very least, needed to make their dalliances memorable. The werewolf closed his eyes, opened his mind to Aidan's presence, and sank into the kiss.

The vampire sucked on the werewolf's bottom lip, dragging his fangs along the inside as he let it go. Before Josh could register that he moved, Aidan's mouth had reappeared fully engulfing Josh's hard sex. And sucking… oh the sucking.

"Oh, fuck!" Josh gasped, only to have cool, strong fingers clamp over his mouth. Oh, that's right… they were just a few feet away from a well-lit and populated corridor. They could be caught, at any time. The slightest squeak or gasp at the wrong moment could send a concerned staff member in here to investigate. And what would they find? Hospital hottie number one, Nurse Hunky, going down on a mild-mannered, slightly geeky orderly. And doing it well. Very, very well. The werewolf was beginning to get the idea about how much Aidan had been holding back when he did this to Josh the first time. He could take Vamps Got Talent by storm if he wanted! Aidan's song was a swirling hurricane picking up speed in Josh's mind, all sensation and pure ecstasy. Aidan was going for quick and dirty, which was probably a good thing… it was best not to linger in compromising positions.

Josh's hands were gripping the bars of the shelves behind him, knuckles white. He was breathing hard through his nose, struggling valiantly against a keening moan with every exhale. The tornado got faster, tighter while his breath hitched, and his body bucked as neurons misfired to deal with the sensation overload. Josh gave a small whimper of warning as the storm inside of his mind crested, crashing down and swirling through him to shoot out of him in long, rhythmically segmented bursts.

Josh's orgasm threw his mind in to a thick white haze, catching and suspending him there. He knew time had to be passing, but he couldn't discern how much or how fast. The fingers over his mouth dematerialized. Dimly, he registered that his clothes were being readjusted as his body remained frozen, eyes closed, mind floating, empty. His hands were gently coaxed open, and his arms dropped limply to his sides. His body still leaned heavily against the boxes and shelves behind him. He could feel his friend touching him gently, trying to rouse him. Thumbs stroked his cheeks first, then hands rubbing his upper arms.

Slowly, his brain started to reboot and come back online. Not all as a whole. The process was very disorganized and sluggish. Josh would have liked nothing more than to luxuriate in this floaty feeling, to curl up and drift into deep, sweet dreams. Unfortunately, that was a no-can-do in the middle of his work shift. Aidan stroked his flanks, pulling him forward. Josh's arms came up on their own accord, winding loosely around his imp's neck, and Josh gently rested his temple against Aidan's. When he felt he was ready, Josh opened his eyes. He looked into Aidan's brown eyes. "Hi!"

Aidan smiled. "Hi!" The vampire sounded a little worried. "Are you alright?"

The werewolf sent him a small smile followed by a dreamy, hummed affirmative. "Mm-hum."

The vampire chuckled. "You know, for a minute there, I thought I had literally blown your brains out!"

Josh giggled. "For a minute there, you did!" He pressed a kiss to Aidan's lips, and pulled them together for a tight hug, sighing contentedly.

After a long moment Josh pulled away, and walking to the door, turned on the lights, grabbed the inventory clipboard, took a pen out of his pocket, and bumped the end of the pen against his shoulder to extract the ball point. If anyone came in, they could say he was doing inventory. He looked expectantly at Aidan, a little flushed, and still slightly dazed. Josh cleared his throat. "So... you, uh... had a good day?"

"Uh... yeah. Met with the heads of the other families under the leadership of the Dutch. They are more than willing to lend a hand. Boston is wide open at the moment, and that is a huge safety concern for all of us. I put the word out we were looking for people, and I've been contacted by several other families, volunteering members who are ready to move locations for a while: from Vancouver, Alaska, Venezuela... Minsk! Also, I've had a lot of human contacts coming out of the woodwork, wondering what had happened to their "business colleague." We had a lot more humans working for us than I thought. I have assured them that this was an unusual situation, took their information, and told them that they would have a new family contact soon. It's all coming together."

Josh smiled. "That's fantastic! Congratulations!"

Aidan nodded. "Thank you!" He sighed. "But it's still a lot of work. I will be expected to co-ordinate things for quite a while. For Bishop it was 50 years."

Josh gave a little shrug. "Bishop wanted to lead."

Aidan raised his eyebrows and tipped his head to the side, a sort of facial shrug.

They stood, enjoying the other's presence in a companionable silence.

Josh's voice was low and factual. "Mrs. Domingus died this morning."

Aidan gave a single, slow nod. She had been elderly and frail. It had been expected.

"And..." Josh drawled. Aidan's eyes met his, eyebrows raised.

"And now she is shuffling around the C corridor... staring at people. About an hour ago she came up behind me, and told me I missed a spot."

Aidan smirked.

"And I so DIDN'T!" Josh added defensively.

Aidan laughed softly at his friend.

"Could you take her downstairs? I'm not exactly sure where the ghost place is, and I'm ..." Josh canted his head to the side, seeming to consider, "pretty sure she liked you better."

Aidan thought. Took a hesitant breath. "Okay..." he said slowly. "I'll take care of Mrs. Domingus if you do something for me."

Josh felt a strong apprehension creep over him. He had a feeling it was going to be going well outside the boundaries of their agreement, which he himself had pretty much shot to hell. In for a penny, in for a pound. He was frog soup at this point and he knew it.

"Go to the Blood Den with me tonight."

Josh inhaled deeply, and then seemed unable to exhale, looking confounded. He worked through it, finally able to ask, "For what reason?"

"It's empty right now." Aidan assured him as he walked into Josh's personal space. He whispered in Josh's ear, "It will be just the two of us, alone."

Oh... the vampire still wants to play! Josh gave a nervous guffaw, and centering himself, looked into Aidan's eyes. "Kinky!"

Aidan's eyes swirled black. He murmured a low "you have no idea!"

Josh inhaled a deep breath of air, then forced it back out. "Can I Phone a Friend?"

Aidan looked at Josh askance; eyes clearing as he quickly looked him up and down. "Now who's kinky?" He teased.

"I'll do it... If! Sally will watch the door."

It was Aidan's turn to look unsure.

"I trust you, Aidan, I do. But if I am going to be that far into vampire territory, I want a pair of eyes looking out for me that can move faster than a vampire."

Aidan pointed out humorously "She's just going to end up watching us!"

"As long as she watches the building too, at this point I don't really care what she sees. She's watched me do everything else in the world. Besides, when I was at the house with Nora, she hid in the foyer to give us our privacy. Maybe she'll surprise us."

"Alright, "Aidan says magnanimously, "Sally is in, if she's willing."

Josh nodded, like the matter was settled. Aidan slipped an arm around his back. "There's more."

With Aidan this close, the pretense of holding the clipboard was pointless. Without looking, he deposited it on the shelf behind him, laying the pen on top. Resting his hands on Aidan's upper arms, Josh smiled at his friend, shaking his head. "Lay it on me."

"Wear something for me?"

Josh dropped his head back, smiling helplessly at the ceiling. "Oh. My. God."

"Let me pick you up in the lounge."

"Oh, you want me to play one of the Blood Den-izens!"

Aidan's deep "Uh-huh" rumbled through him sensuously.

Josh rested his forehead against the vampire's, looking into his eyes. Of course, from this close up, it looked like Aidan had only one eye, like a Cyclops. Josh would look the same way to Aidan. Josh smiled at the illusion. "Whatever you want."

The vampire had a couple of more meetings this afternoon. "I'll pick you up at seven."

Josh agreed. Aidan couldn't resist moving in for one last, deep kiss. Josh could taste the sharp flavor of his own semen on Aidan's tongue; fading, but still there. Deep in the recesses of his mind, Josh heard a faint warning klaxon resound. Either their Emergency Contingency Plan had just become a more Proactive Vampire Maintenance Program, or he and Aidan were now having an affair. Normally, he would put a halt to proceedings and clarify things immediately, but aside from kissing Aidan back, he decided to hold his tongue for now. He was supposed to be working, and he had already been gone too long, so this really wasn't the time and place for that discussion. Plus, he wanted time to think about this. What would it change, really? Except the amount of fun they both had before their time limit was up? It had been two very long, stressful, CELEBATE years. Didn't he deserve some compensation?

Aidan broke the kiss, and putting on his sunglasses, exited the supply room. The floor Josh had been mopping dried completely while they were in there. As he made his way over to the C Corridor to find the newest hadn't-departed, he went over his plan for tonight.

The idea had come into his mind in the shower this morning, and just wouldn't be banished. The Blood Den was usually open every day, all day. You could go years and not see the building empty once. But it was empty now, and there were already women designated to be the next generation of donors for the new Boston family. They would be in the building twenty-four, seven for years to come. But it was empty now. It was just too good of an opportunity to miss.

He would swing by Sapp and Sons to pick up the bed. There were a couple of vans there, he would use those. Before this all started, he had bought a special kind of bed sheets for Josh, sheets made of the same material from which they make high performance athletic clothing. Moisture wicking, the sheets stay cool in the summer, and feel silky against the skin: A nice thing to have when you're a hot, irritable werewolf living in an old house on the second floor in the middle of a scorching heat wave. They couldn't expect Sally to create cold spots for them the entire summer! Aidan had planned to give them to Josh on his birthday, which hadn't come around yet. Being a thoughtful friend, Aidan had washed the sheets already, and vacuum sealed them in a clean bag: a gift for Josh, and a gift for Josh's OCD. Well, he would have to think of another gift for the birthday, the sheets would be perfect for what he had in mind for tonight.

The idea of bedding a werewolf in the heart of vampire territory, right under the nose of the Dutch, in Marcus' bed turned him on so much it made his balls ache. Good thing Josh didn't know exactly how the Blood Den worked. The donors were usually women, and unless they had an objection to you in particular, (which they never did with Aidan,) all you needed to do was signal them to follow you. What ensued was sometimes kissing, mostly drinking, a little groping, but no fornicating. With Josh he had something else in mind. He had this image of Josh wearing a mesh shirt, and cargo pants that are just a little too big for him, the waistband sitting low on his hips, easy access. No underwear. Bare feet. Aidan wondered how he could get Josh to say his name was "Tammi" without it seeming too weird. Maybe just give him a note with the clothes... hmmm.

After a little bit of awkward banter, (this WAS Josh, after all,) a little bit of dancing, he would throw Josh on to the bed, and have his wicked way with him. He wanted to tease Josh mercilessly, make him tremble, whimper and beg. Aidan wished it was closer to the full moon: then he could really drive Josh wild! Eh, you can't have everything. And only when Josh was on top of him, buried as deep inside Aidan as he could go, would he whisper in Josh's ear whose bed they were using. Marcus, whose cruelty was the very cause of their friendship. Marcus, who beat up Josh's sister in retaliation for getting a beat down of his own by Josh outside of that very Blood Den instead of considering it his just desserts for picking that first fight with Josh. Marcus, who had stalked Josh and forced him to come out of the Suddenly Supernatural closet to his family. Marcus was dead now. Gone. No more snide remarks about the werewolf's "doggie stink." Well, moisture wicking sheets would be perfect for helping to scent mark a mattress. And if by some magic that mattress found its way back to its owner in hell when Aidan burned it afterward, he was going to pen a dedication on the corner in Sharpie: To Marcus, warmest regards, Aidan and Josh.

He would make sure he drank plenty of hospital blood beforehand. He didn't want to take any chances of being too hungry tonight when he was with Josh. Ah, it was going to be some night!

Just before Aidan reached the turn into the C Corridor, he spied Nora at the far end of the hallway. She slumped at bit with a large exhale in front of the door to the dialysis room. Then with a large breath in, reclaimed her stature and walked through the door. "Hello Mr. Fisicos! How are you feeling today?" Aidan heard Nora ask in a warm, chipper voice.

"Like they took both of my fucking legs, you cunt!" came the surly replay. Aidan slowed to a stop, listening. If there was one thing that Aidan didn't like, it was a bully. It was clear that Mr. Fisicos hadn't done much to improve his reputation in Aidan's absence. As much as the patient believed that the diabetes had dealt him a raw deal in life, and that he had carte blanche to take it out on the hospital staff, he was in for a rude awakening if he didn't shape up his attitude. Mr. Fisicos wouldn't be leaving the hospital when his body did. He would be a legless, angry spirit reduced to using his hands to drag himself down the halls, incoherently yelling about his blame of God's cruelty; unseen, unheard, and forgotten. Aidan was still employed at the hospital. He didn't have as much freedom to misbehave as the patients did, especially when he wasn't even supposed to be on the premises: he was on leave with a couple of drinks under his belt. If he came to Nora's aid, he would have to be as diplomatic as if he were in his nurse's uniform and on duty. Fortunately, he had no reason to worry.

Not rising to the bait, Nora went on, sounding both confident and reassuring. "Well, it looks like you have just five minutes left. I'll send someone in to unhook you and take you back to your room." Nora reemerged in the hallway, shaking her head as she walked farther down. Aidan smiled. That Nora was one tough cookie! He continued on his way.

He found his quarry in a side hallway that was thankfully devoid of currently living people. Aidan still pitched his voice low, quietly addressing the dead woman. "Hello Mrs. Domingus! Do you remember me? My name is Aidan. I'm a nurse here at the hospital. Since you're feeling better, I am here to help you transfer to another ward downstairs. Could you follow me, please?"

And Mrs. Domingus did.


	9. RoRChapter08

"I hope he grins like Jack Nicholson,  
And forces you to play a game called "Balls On Chin."  
And whatever happens next is all a blur,  
But you remember "fist" can be a verb."  
- I Hope You Die, Hooray For Boobies, The Bloodhound Gang.

The Reciprocity of Ratiocination.

Chapter 8: A Surprise Growth Experience.

Fresh from a nighttime shower, Josh walked into his bedroom with a towel wrapped around his waist. By rote, he flipped on the light switch and closed the door, moving into the room and towards his dresser.

The light immediately went back off, accompanied by the familiar click of the light switch.

In the dark, both of his arms were grabbed and pinioned behind his back. As his mind scrambled to catch up with what was going on, he was already being bodily pushed to the side, and he felt his towel being taken from him. He was airborne for a moment, having been neatly shoved to land on the bed face down, naked. Another person landed on top of him to hold him down. There was no mistaking that it was a fully naked man.

As Josh took a deep breath to call for help, a large hand clamped over his mouth.

"Do not make me muzzle you," Aidan purred pointedly in his ear, "because I'm pretty sure we're gonna need a safe word."

Josh felt his body's tension drop in relief at the recognition of his roommate. He wasn't afraid of Aidan, but he did find this little stunt irritating.

With that smarmy sing-song quality in his voice that indicated that he was having that gleeful vampire-type fun, Aidan suggested, "How 'bout... vampires rule?" Josh's eyes narrowed. Aidan dragged his tongue across Josh's cheek, and whispered in his ear, "This is going to be so much easier now that you don't have a tail!" Aidan rolled his hips, calling Josh's attention to the fact that the vampire's shaft was hard, already lubed up, and nestled up against Josh's buttocks. He felt Aidan's fangs touch his neck, and caress a path to his shoulder. Aidan's hand loosened its hold on Josh's mouth, and drifted away, releasing him. Aidan used that hand to hold some of his weight off of Josh, so he could stop squishing Josh's arms between the two of them and let his friend breathe.

Desperate to assert himself by making some kind of movement, Josh turned his head to lay the other way on his pillow, but stayed quiet. There was the usual amount of street light filtering through the bamboo shade. Although Josh kept his room tidy and could navigate around his bed blindfolded, it was still a comfort to be able to see his surroundings.

"Good boy!" Aidan cooed at him.

Josh gave a quiet scoff of annoyance, and worked at freeing his hands from Aidan's grip.

"Aut! Aut!" Aidan reprimanded sharply. "Stop struggling, or I will tie you down with your own leash!"

That's it! Josh was willing to cut Aidan some slack and play along with him, but that didn't mean he was going to be one hundred percent cooperative. His eyes narrowed a little more. Just to screw with his friend's plans, Josh tensed his buttock muscles up tight.

That earned a low, sensuous chuckle from Aidan. Aidan pulled his hips back, positioning himself to line up with Josh's poor, unprepped little pucker. He felt Josh's whole body jump with a soft gasp when he slid the head of his well lubricated cock straight past those deliciously clenched muscles and pressed against Josh in just the right spot. Men who have never been taken by force naively believe that they could just clench up and be impenetrable. Every man should feel this. They should know what it's like to be opened up by another man, to know the vulnerabilities of their physical forms. He was glad that Josh was learning this lesson safely, with him.

Aidan licked his cheek, and murmured in his ear. "You're mine. You're completely at my mercy." To punctuate the point, he gave Josh's hole another prod with his cock. The vampire was starting to get worked up, dropping suckling kisses around Josh's neck and shoulder. After another prod, he dropped the act, and in a more normal voice he told Josh, "you can't stop me... but if you keep that up, you're going to be very sore in the morning. Now, relax!" To encourage him, Aidan shook the wrists that were still being held behind Josh's back by one of Aidan's hands.

With his mind, Josh searched for Aidan, mentally reaching out for him. The werewolf found what he was looking for, the waiting link with the vampire's presence calming and warming him. Josh brushed against it without establishing a full link, taking the reassurance he had needed from it, but not wanting to use it as a crutch. This was a test. Letting Aidan control him would be cheating. He was in no danger. Realizing those muscles were pretty much switched to autopilot, Josh closed his eyes, and concentrated on releasing them. When he wasn't able to comply immediately, Aidan had to shift his weight so he could give Josh a light, playful smack on the side of his bottom. "RELAX!" Aidan commanded him, shaking his wrists again. After Josh gave a helpless laugh, he was finally able to unclench his glutes.

"Good boy!" Aidan's vamp-happy voice praised him again.

Josh felt his eyes narrow again while he wondered if he should throw the racist prick out of his bedroom on principle. Aidan told him that he would challenge Josh sexually. Although Josh hadn't formally agreed to Aidan's offer… yet… he did agree to put himself at Aidan's disposal. He knew Aidan was testing him, baiting him, but was not out to hurt him. So, there was no harm in playing along for him. He closed his eyes, and worked on relaxing himself for his friend.

Aidan kept the tip of his penis pressed steadily into Josh as he rolled his hips in a circular motion. Slowly, he worked himself deeper into the werewolf, enjoying the journey. The heat of Josh's body felt wonderful to him, almost as good as the trust the werewolf was gracing him with at that moment. The vampire continued to burrow himself into that wonderfully tight heat, feeling his friend's heartbeat tapping at him through the wrists he held, beckoning him, reminding him what it was like to be not just physically joined, but enveloped and submerged and drowned by what was inside of a living body. He ran his tongue along Josh's neck, the thump, thump, thump he found there was singing that same old song to him as Josh's wrists were. Vampires didn't perceive werewolf heartbeats the same as they did human heartbeats. It wasn't as loud, it wasn't as irresistibly alluring. But this up close, and as starving as Aidan's body was, even the wolf smell wasn't enough of a warning to dissuade him from wanting that precious, quiet heartbeat. Aidan closed his eyes, taking deep breaths, and gave a small shake of his head to help dislodge those thoughts; instead concentrating on the sensation of joining them through skin, not blood. He laid a string of kisses across Josh's shoulders, using Josh's wolf-scent to anchor him and remind him that this was JOSH.

The first time Aidan had taken Josh up on his Semi-Conditional, Limited Time, Use Me Offer, he hadn't been able to resist slipping his fangs into his friend. He had bitten Josh right at the end, not with the intent to feed, no, but just to feel that resilient skin tighten around his fangs, join with him and HAVE him, just for a moment. As much as he had tried to resist doing so, (Vampires don't drink from werewolves!), in the end he had given in to the urge, simply because he could sense that Josh would let him get away with it. Although Aidan had taken just a couple small drops of blood from Josh, he felt bad about taking advantage of his friend. Also, he knew the last thing he needed was the Dutch smelling the wolf's blood inside of him. The Dutch would kill him on the spot, and Aidan knew it for a fact. As always, restraint and control were called for. (Dammit!) Just another way it sucks to be a vampire, the things he can have all he wants of, he destroys; the things he wants more of, he can't have. Never a happy medium. He asked his friend in a breathy whisper, "how're ya doin'?"

"I'm good," Josh murmured remotely. The younger man's eyes were closed, and his lips were slightly parted as he breathed. Aidan's cock was working him open, his rectal muscles were burning and protesting at the unannounced intrusion, but were grudgingly giving way. That modest amount of discomfort was nothing compared to transforming. Feeling Aidan's rock hard arousal working its way inside of him, Aidan's weight on top of him, and the freedom of not needing to formulate any type of response to the onslaught was kinda nice. He had been without sex for what felt like a frigging lifetime and his physical relationship with Aidan was still new, so he supposed that despite the offensive remarks and Aidan's little pseudo-rape fantasy thing he had going on here, feeling himself getting turned on by this shouldn't surprise him. It was a good thing he had landed in a position that allowed him to get an erection without being painfully cramped; otherwise he would have had to shift his hips to readjust himself, and there was enough going on down there right now to be getting on with.

Aidan continued to work his way into his friend, switching to shallow thrusts in the same tempo when he was inside as far as the position allowed. The rate of Josh's breathing picked up. When Josh began pushing himself back on to Aidan, the vampire changed to longer, slower thrusts. And he repositioned their legs, so instead of holding Josh's legs together and down, he was now snuggly settled between Josh's spread legs. Even though he was able to get a little deeper now, Josh acclimated immediately. The thrusts came quicker.

Using both of his arms, Aidan released Josh's hands from their submission hold, (who needs Krav Maga?) and pressed them palms-down into the mattress as he placed his hands over Josh's, lacing their fingers together, and then forcing their joined hands up under Josh's chest. As Aidan incrementally scooched their arms up, he allowed more and more of his weight to fall on his friend, and was able to get a little deeper inside of him each time. Their hands had traveled up past Josh's collarbone… and YES! Josh did just what Aidan was hoping he would do: the werewolf tucked his chin down to rest on their hands, baring the back of his neck. Aidan was nearing his climax. Timing was everything. He sucked in air through his teeth and cursed as he forced his fangs to retract and his eyes to clear. Doing that when he was this turned on, it effing hurt! With a moan of relief that he had accomplished the feat of putting the vampire back, he tumbled over the edge, pressing all of his weight down hard into Josh, shooting into Josh as deeply as he could, and wrapping his human teeth around the back of the werewolf's neck, he bit down.

Josh gave a squeeky gasp and felt himself tense up. Something had changed. Something had MOVED. And it was telling him now to fight. Adrenaline crashed through his body. Shallowly, Josh was panting his way through the panic, telling himself: ItsaTestItsaTestItsaTest! It was a mental movement, similar to what he felt from Aidan that day in the hospital hallway, but it wasn't a dance this time, and it wasn't coming from Aidan. At least he didn't think so; it didn't feel like Aidan. From behind Josh's closed eyes, he could feel his wolf's eyes on him, watching him. LOOKING at him. Demanding that Josh take over and defend them. It was scary as hell.

When Josh felt Aidan's teeth release him, he was finally able to break his paralysis and take a deep breath. His brows knitted as he was able to open his eyes and stare at the pillow in front of him. Aidan's hands released his and withdrew, allowing Aidan to rest on his elbows and kiss at the teeth marks on Josh's neck. No broken skin, just tooth impressions only. The vampire rolled his hips slowly, enjoying the sensation of moving inside the werewolf's body, and making happy, appreciative little moans at his friend.

Josh also put his elbows under him; hiding his face in his hands for a few precious seconds to center himself before sliding his hands down his face and pushing what just happened away and out of his mind. He didn't want to dwell. He wasn't the wolf. He borrowed some of Aidan's post-coital happy relaxation to slide back in to rapport with this intimate little liaison with his friend.

From under one of Josh's pillows, Aidan grabbed a washcloth. As he carefully pulled out of Josh, he held the towel under them to spare Josh's bedspread any drips, then gently cleaned off remnants of lubricant and semen from Josh's skin before using the cloth on himself. He lay down very close to Josh on his back, slipping his ankle under Josh's and his closest arm under Josh's arm to stroke his friend's neck and collarbone. He positioned himself with his head not as high up on the bed as the werewolf's, so he had to physically look up to make eye contact. It put him in a more subservient position. Aidan relaxed his face and opened his eyes in the best way he knew to make himself appear more innocent and vulnerable. He lifted his chin, silently asking his roommate for a kiss.

Josh bent his head down to give him one: a nice long one. Good. He was still on board.

"I'm sorry about all that, Josh," he murmured seductively at his friend. "I know as a vampire I can be overbearing sometimes. But once it's out of my system, I'm as sweet as a pussycat!" He brought his free hand around to cup the back of the orderly's head, bringing him down for another thorough kiss. He could feel Josh's interest collecting, focusing in on him.

Aidan pushed Josh back, forcing the younger man to rebalance when Aidan picked up the elbow around which his arm was curled. The vampire flipped his body over, pivoting under the shoulder that had been practically underneath the werewolf already. Not the easiest move to accomplish gracefully with his larger frame, but Josh was a gentleman and accommodated him by allowing the vampire to settle on his stomach beneath his own body. Aidan craned his head around to mouth at Josh's jawline.

He rubbed his temple along Josh's neck. With a slow, audible sigh, Aidan arched his back, writhing his body and rubbing his bottom against his roommate's cock. Josh wasn't fully hard, he had lost a good bit of his erection when Aidan bit the nape of his neck, but he was getting there. The older man craned his head around, looked up and subtly batted his eyes at the man hovering over him. The werewolf took the bait, and pressed his lips to the vampire's. The experienced Casanova broke the kiss to duck his head around, and repeat the move from the other side. As before, he was rewarded with another press of the werewolf's lips to his own. This time, Aidan deepened the kiss, moaning into his partner's mouth as he writhed up against him again. He pulled away slightly to give the werewolf's jawline a couple of light, plaintive bites. He found the lubricant and tapped it against Josh's hand, bowing his head and holding himself open for his friend… waiting.

Rocking back on to his knees, Josh applied the lubricant to himself while he admired the view of Aidan's body. Just like when Aidan had started with him, his knees were on the outside. He changed their positions now, moving first one leg in-between Aidan's, then the other. His eyes caressed his roommate's well sculpted bottom, and that ring of puckered flesh that was his enticing destination. Josh coated his shaft with the lubricant, then reached forward with slick fingers to prepare his friend. But Aidan caught his hand before Josh could touch him, and tugged his hand forward, pulling the rest of Josh's body over his own.

Accepting the challenge to open Aidan without use of his fingers, Josh lined himself up and began. It was an exercise in patience as much as control. His mouth watered with the urge to bite. Josh had bitten Aidan the first time they were together, in the cage; it had been entirely unintentional and possessive. Springing out of him like a Jack-In-The-Box surprise, like the growling, it had frightened Josh. It was the urge to bite, the yearning of making the motion of biting that he was feeling. There was no desired end result, not to need to rip and tear, it wasn't blood he was seeking, at least not yet, and deep down he was afraid that was where it might lead. Maybe once he started, the wolf would take over, and then the more visceral, violent urges would rush in and rampage. He could chew someone to death. Or hey, maybe it wasn't so bad, like maybe he wanted to bite at Aidan because Aidan was a vampire… sort of a... motif thing. But Aidan was here to help him figure these things out, Josh reminded himself, and if he doesn't avail himself of that offer, he will still be in the same position of being too scared of the unknown to trust himself to take a lover. The sooner, the better: Josh would only get stronger from here on out. He needs to rely on Aidan's strength and speed to overpower him if he gets out of control. Good lord, how Josh wanted a sex life!

"If I'm going too fast, just let me know," Josh murmured at Aidan.

He worked his way into his friend, his eyes on the spot between Aidan's neck and shoulder. Josh kissed the spot speculatively. He explored the little patch of skin with his lips, even licked at it with his tongue. Tentatively, he closed his teeth over the muscle. He waited there for a moment, then experimentally tensed his jaw muscles, exerting force into his bite. But the harder he bit down, the more wrong it felt, it wasn't what he wanted to do. He released his teeth's hold, licked the couple of times to apologize for the bite, and took a good bit of skin in a light hold between his teeth. That was it! That was what he had been wanting. Josh was relieved he didn't want to bite into his partner; he just wanted to hold them in his teeth. He reveled in the feeling for a moment, the exhilaration and relief of having figured out how to satisfy at least one thankfully harmless urge. It felt so nice to him: holding that skin between his teeth. He heard a happy, contented little growl escape his own throat. He explored his roommate's back with his teeth, taking a patch of skin and holding it for a couple seconds before releasing it and trying out a new patch. It felt so wonderful, his body wanted to go with this feeling and take it all the way; go for broke and thrust hard into Aidan. He resisted this urge, holding himself in check, instead concentrating on how much stimulation he was getting from the progress he had forged so far.

Aidan's skin was warm, the vampire's whole body was warm, inside and out. Josh had noticed this peripherally before, how Aidan's body heats up during sex. What better proof that his vampiric body is made for this, meant for it, and needed it as much as blood? Carefully, Josh eased himself into his roommate's body, using shallow, slow thrusts; massaging those delicate rings of muscle open with the head of his eager, rigid cock. Finally, the tip of his sex made it past the sphincter muscles and caressed the soft smoothness of Aidan's rectal walls. Josh took a different patch of skin between his teeth, enjoying the moment and the sensations of being inside of his best friend. Another happy growl escaped his throat. If someone had ever sat him down and tried to explain to him how wonderful sex with a man could be, Josh knows he never would have believed them. He brushed against the link again with his mind, stroking it to take a sampling of what was there. He found a tautly attenuated baseline hum pushing into him an insatiable itch to kiss, touch, taste... to indulge in Aidan's skin, his scent, his body. In this moment, Aidan was all his. It was an honor that came with a feeling of protectiveness; he felt almost worshipful and reverent. Josh let his length slide in, sinking in to that amazingly soft, tight heat. Josh let go and let the growls come as he started to thrust. His whole body was warm and tingling, his whole world was the sensations of his body touching Aidan's. It didn't take long for his orgasm to build, a buzzing warmth he could feel growing, from his fingertips to his toes. It crested and overtook him, enveloped him and he surrendered to it, enjoyed it. When the pleasure receded enough for Josh to come back to himself, he chuckled a little, allowing contented little hums to slip out of his throat while moving inside of his friend.

Aidan patiently lay underneath him, cheek pressed to the pillow gathered and held in the circle of his arms, and lazily lifting his feet to rub his legs slowly against Josh's.

When he was ready, Josh lifted himself up, took a second washcloth offered to him by Aidan, and paying Aidan consideration in kind, Josh cleaned the nurse after he pulled out of his body. He wiped himself off, and flopped down on his back next to his roommate. Aidan rolled on to his side to face the werewolf, bending his arm and resting his head on his hand.

Josh was surprised at the frankness of the vampire's look as they made eye contact.

"Josh," Aidan began, "if you wanna keep looking for the ways that getting turned changed your sexuality, that's completely up to you. But if I had to formulate an acid test, this was it... and you did very well. You didn't fight me for dominance when I pushed you. You didn't punish me for being submissive. You were listening to what your body was telling you to do, in a way that showed you were cognizant of the fact that you didn't want to hurt me. I know you told me you were concerned about hurting your partner…" Aidan paused until Josh nodded. "And I've gotta tell you, that first time in the cage, you were less than an hour from turning, I had compelled your inhibitions down to almost nothing, and we were under a lot of stress. Even then, Josh, you were able to get back in control over yourself when you slipped. I still think some good old fashioned practice is a good idea…" Aidan waggled his eyebrows at Josh, earning himself a grudging smirk from his friend, "but I hope tonight has gone a long way in showing you that you can trust yourself with a partner."

Josh looked away, thoughtful. Serious, he nodded his head.

"Now, tell me what happened with you when I bit the back of your neck," Aidan prompted.

The poor werewolf looked thrown. This was the one thing he had hoped he would not be asked. He cleared his throat, his eyes darting around the room. "Um…" His mind went blank. He had no idea how to go on. He closed his eyes, taking a few deep breaths. "Uh, well…" he started again. He concentrated hard on what the first sensation had been. "When I felt you bite me, it was like the wolf… moved. It didn't like it."

"Moved how?" The vampire asked.

"I don't know. It just moved, and then it was like my wolf was looking at me."

"Okay," Aidan said patiently. "The reason I wanted to try that out with you was that I thought the sensation of being bitten on the back of the neck would speak most directly to your wolf. There are three different ways you could have interpreted it."

The werewolf shifted slightly, listening.

"The first way, your body would just interpret it as sexual play, and dismissed it, no big deal. Second option… your wolf has been genetically preprogrammed with inborn instinctive behaviors. Hunting, for example. Werewolves can hunt by themself from day one; they don't need to be taught how to do it by a parent. Biting on the back of the neck is one way that predators bring down prey in the wild, when they are trying to tip over a larger animal to subdue them. So when I bit you, the wolf may have felt that I was a danger to you."

Nodding, Josh could certainly see how that could be the case.

"The third scenario is that werewolf DNA would need to program your wolf on how to respond to pack members. If the infection doesn't discriminate, there would have to be a full set of instinctual programming that's designed to thrive in the host." Aidan paused a moment to let that message settle in. By the knitted brows coming back at him, Aidan could tell that Josh didn't see where this was headed. "Imagine that a family a five was attacked by a werewolf, and all five survived: Mom, dad, three small children. Now, from that first full moon on, they need to know how to function as a pack. The natural way for small mammals to move their babies is called scruffing. They pick up their babies by the back of the neck, and carry them away with their teeth. Sometimes babies will instinctively pull in their legs so they don't drag on the ground and trip up the parents. Other times, the babies will hang completely slack. Now, I am theorizing that your instinctive programming included how to be a baby wolf, and might kick in with the right stimulation."

"It wasn't happy. It was… affronted."

Aidan's eyebrows rose. That wasn't definitive information. Aidan took a breath and drew himself up in a sitting position. "Alright," he told Josh, patting the mattress in front of him. "Come here, we'll try it again."

Josh's mouth dropped open, and he tried to formulate a plan to get out of experiencing that again, but failed utterly. He pressed his lips together, gathering himself and moving up to sit with his back to Aidan. Then he reconsidered, and turned his body to sit sideways to face off to Aidan's right. Aidan's right hand grasped Josh's left shoulder, and the werewolf leaned his chin forward over the vampire's arm, while his hands grasped the arm from underneath.

"Close your eyes," instructed the vampire. Obediently, Josh's eyes closed. "I want you to imagine your wolf as a harmless little cub. He has fluffy fur and tiny baby teeth. Your wolf has two litter mates playing off to the side, and behind him is his mother. They live in a wolf preserve. They are perfectly safe. Suddenly, your little wolf feels teeth on the back of his neck. If he thinks it's his brothers playing with him, he will splay his legs out to keep his balance. If he thinks it's his mother, he will either go slack, or draw his legs in to his body. So, see if you can determine what your wolf is doing with his legs. Ready?"

Josh looked miserable, but nodded. Aidan fixed his eyes on the back of Josh's neck, leaned forward to give a firm but innocuous bite… and felt his fangs click out. He moved back with an exasperated sound, irritated at himself. He could feel Josh's body shaking with laughter. The vampire tipped his head to stare intimidatingly down at the younger man.

The werewolf peeked up at him, bumped in to him with his shoulder, and told him, "Down, boy!"

This made Aidan laugh, too, resting his forehead on Josh's shoulder. "Sorry," he apologized lightly, "force of habit!"

"I should have called No Fangs," Josh conceded quietly.

The vampire gave his friend another amiable chuckle and turned his head to press his temple against the back of the other man's shoulder as he concentrated on creating the sensation of the fangs retracting. With a click, they did, his eyes also regaining their human appearance.

"Okay… let's try this one again. Eyes closed. Your little cub is standing with his family in their safe place. Ready?"

Josh nodded, looking more relaxed this time.

Taking care to keep his fangs in this time, Aidan bit down hard enough to mark the skin, but not break it.

Josh's body tensed and his face scrunched up in a grimace. He tried to picture his little cub in his mind. It was difficult to hold to that image when teeth and muscles and tearing flesh and dripping blood were strongly associated in his mind with his alternate form. An innocent, fluffy little cub. A pissed off, innocent, fluffy little cub. And boy, was it pissed! Josh heard its perturbed little growl; he felt it come out of his own throat. Josh squeezed his eyes closed, and concentrated on ascribing an accurate body posture to his mental impression. Is it standing? He asked himself. No. It was definitely no longer standing. That fluffy little cub in his mind was suspended, hanging in the air and tensed up to resemble a large, furry bean. Josh caught his breath and tapped out on Aidan's arm, signaling him to let go. As Aidan wiped his saliva off of Josh's neck with his fingers, Josh marveled, "It's the mother! He really doesn't like that, it makes him feel helpless. And because he feels helpless, he wants me to step in and protect us both!" He pulled back and looked at Aidan. "Man! That is really weird!

Aidan canted his head to the side, mulling over the test results. How could this be used as a weapon? If someone were to attempt to use this sensation against Josh intending him harm, it would only give Josh more incentive to fight them off. But if the enemy was expecting the werewolf not to have experienced this before, perhaps the intent could be befuddlement, to overstimulate and confuse the werewolf so it couldn't mount an effective defense. On the other side, they had to consider that this may not be a trigger for all werewolves, but a reaction unique to Josh. Aidan also had to take into account Josh's wolf had accepted him as being in its pack, so perhaps if it were anyone else doing this to Josh, the wolf would have reacted differently. They couldn't bank on that, though. "Give me some time to think about this, and I'll get back to you, okay?"

Josh nodded. "Okay."

"I've got some ideas I think would be fun to try with you if you want to keep going, since we're sleeping together anyway. But, if you would like to stop here and explore the rest with another, future partner, that would be fine, too. It's up to you."

Josh considered it briefly. Nora knew he was a wolf, and he hoped the two of them would be continuing their relationship shortly. But, he felt like he had let his condition hurt her enough already. And if it so happened that Nora decided to move on, Josh knew he would prefer to not have to warn people he was a werewolf before they ended up in sex. Aidan could take just about anything Josh had to dish out, he was definitely the most sexually experienced friend he ever had, and he was offering. Josh nodded. "Yeah... I wanna keep goin'."

The vampire sent him a kind smile. "Great!" And then, more slowly, "Just one more thing." Aidan tipped his head towards Josh's desk, his eyes indicating a paper bag. "We're going to be rubbing up against each other a lot in the next couple of weeks. There is no way that I can wash off enough of your wolf scent so that the others won't be able to smell you on me. That's fine, because since we've moved in together, I have always picked up a certain amount of your scent on my clothes. But now, I've also got too much of your cologne, aftershave, body wash, and deodorant on me, too. I would like to be able to give the vampires I am working with a polite, workable plausible deniability, so I would really appreciate it for the next couple of weeks, if you could switch to my brands."

Josh was a little surprised he hadn't thought of this. Well, in a way he kinda had, he knew his own scent would be on Aidan and any clothing he was wearing while they were together, but he hadn't thought about the scented products that were on his own skin. Aidan wore the latest, trendy brand that promised that the barest whiff of the product could drive women into a sexual frenzy. It did smell good, and it wasn't as if anyone was going to question Josh on the switch. He wasn't exactly cuddling up to Nora these days, and Sally couldn't smell him. Irritatingly, inside his chest, there was a Snoopy dog doing a happy dance at the idea that Aidan wanted them to smell the same. Josh did as Aidan had told him to do, acknowledged the feeling, and allowed it room. Josh gave a little shrug. "Sure. No problem."


	10. RoRChapter09

"Me and you do the kind of stuff that only Prince would sing about,  
So put your hands down my pants, and I'll bet you'll feel nuts!"  
- The Bad Touch, Hooray for Boobies. The Bloodhound Gang.

The Reciprocity of Ratiocination.

Chapter 9: Lesson One.

Ensconced once again in Josh's bedroom the following night, Aidan held up a transparent rubber ring with a solid cylinder affixed to the top. "Have you ever used one of these?" He asked Josh.

Josh gazed intently at the object in his roommate's hand for a moment, and correctly surmising its purpose, shook his head. When he was together with Julia, carving time out of their busy schedule was difficult enough, and sex between them had been missing nothing. They had been planning a lifetime of exploring and dabbling in physical pleasures with one another in exotic locations all over the world after they had both become established as doctors; the rewards of hard work and delayed gratification. They figured the fun toys could come later. "You think my wolf is afraid of vibrators?" Josh asked Aidan, the skepticism in his voice obvious.

An endearing smirk preceded the vampire's answer. "Hey... Frankenstein's monster was afraid of fire. I say start with the basics!"

With a short, helpless chuckle, Josh accepted the plan. "Where do you want me?"

"Naked. On your back."

Josh undressed. Pulling back the covers, he lay down on his bed. He was joined quickly by a naked Aidan crawling up between his legs, their lips meeting and the vampire wasted no time in slipping his tongue in to his friend's mouth. One of Aidan's hands held his weight off of the fellow underneath him, but the other hand wandered palm down from the outside of Josh's knee up to his shoulder.

Josh felt a little delighted shudder snake through him, his body waking to Aidan's touch and Aidan's taste on his tongue. He loved the feel of Aidan's large hands on his skin, the texture of them a little dry from the amount of hand washing Aidan has to do as a nurse. Vaguely Josh wondered if his physical reactions to Aidan were due to the original programming, association (his body learning that letting this guy this close to him yields very good outcomes), or if he was always ripe for the pickin' as far as Aidan was concerned, and just didn't know it. He wasn't supposed to wonder about these things and pick them apart in his mind; he was just supposed to accept them. Josh didn't like those blind spots, but he had to trust it would be okay. He pushed all questions out of his mind, focusing instead on the feel of his best friend pressed up against him. All doubts aside, boy, Aidan sure did know how to rev up his engines.

Aidan prepped him efficiently as he peppered Josh's entire groin area with little pecks and slow, wet kisses. Josh concentrated on deep breaths and relaxing the muscles on his pelvic floor. When Aidan deemed Josh ready to go, Aidan kneeled up on his knees, leaving himself plenty of room to maneuver. Aidan slipped the deactivated rubber ring on to his cock, and eased himself inside Josh's body while wrapping one large, lubricated hand around Josh's hardness. The older man set an easy pace of long strokes while moving his hand up and down on Josh's cock in the same pace as his hips.

After giving a few long moments for their bodies to relax with the pleasure of sexual stimulation, Aidan asked Josh if he was ready. Josh nodded, and as Aidan allowed Josh to take more of his weight, he reached between them to flip the little switch on the side that activated the vibrator.

Josh gasped, his arms and legs coming up to grip at Aidan. "Oh!" He said, followed by a longer, "Ooooohhhhh!" He looked at Aidan in surprise. "You turned your dick into magic!"

Aidan chuckled warmly. "You feel it as me vibrating inside of you, but I feel it as you vibrating around me!"

"That is awesome!" Josh enthused, earning him another chuckle.

"Tell you what…" offered the vampire, "how about I climax quickly, and then you can use it on me after?"

The younger man smiled, cuddled the older man comfortably closer. "Mister, I say you got yourself a deal!"

The next night, Aidan came home carrying an old fashioned carpet bag, telling Josh it was "a surprise for later." Like the night before, they both were naked in Josh's room, and Josh was told to start out naked on his back. "But this time," Aidan said, "no peeking!" And with that, Aidan pulled out a black satin blindfold.

Josh was a little nervous, but Aidan assured him that he didn't have to keep it on; he just needed to wear it for a couple of minutes. The werewolf acquiesced, listening to Aidan opening the bag and pulling out… something.

He tracked Aidan's progress to the bed, felt his bed dip repeatedly in an erratic pattern as Aidan failed to find a good angle from which to settle. If it hadn't been for the vampire's mumbled "just one more second," Josh would have thought he was just having a little fun at Josh's expense, just to force him to squirm and wait.

"Get ready!" Came the warning, then, all at once, Aidan dropped fully on top of him, along with a thick blanket of soft, slippery, fibrous hairs tickling Josh's naked skin.

Peals of riotous laughter gushed out of Josh as his limbs came up to feel more of that soft tickling. Fur! It was fur! Aidan was testing him with fur! Aidan gave Josh his best growl as he swooped down to press heavy, wiggly kisses into Josh's neck, which made Josh cry out good naturedly and laugh harder. He pushed Aidan back with one hand, while he removed his blindfold with the other. "That's funny!" He said, still laughing. "Stand up! I wanna see the whole thing!"

Scooting off the bed and standing, Aidan modeled the floor length men's white mink coat. He made a full turn, then, thrusting his hands in to the pockets, threw Josh a little cat-walk action. He unbuttoned the top two buttons and slid the jacket open and down off his shoulders. Aidan ended his performance with his best, bare-chested, blue steel beefcake pose.

Josh laughed appreciably, and told him "Alright! Now come back to bed!"

Aidan smiled, righted the jacket and eagerly rejoined Josh on the bed. Grabbing his lapel, Josh pulled Aidan's mouth to his, kissing him enthusiastically. When the moment ended Josh pulled back, still smiling, with a question shining in his eyes.

"It does kinda smell like stale cigarette smoke, though!" Josh broached looking a tad regretful, and a tad clever.

Aidan put up his hands. "Hey, this time it's not about any lingering Marcus issues! He just happens to be the only idiot I know who thought he was pimp enough to need a full length white mink coat! So, there it was, a free mink coat gathering dust…" Aidan pulled Josh closer, rested their foreheads together and purred, "We may as well put it to good use!" He tilted his head to the side, licking Josh's lips before slipping his tongue in to Josh's mouth for a thorough kiss.

"Come here," Aidan whispered, rolling on to his knees and pulling Josh on top of him to lay tight against him, so that Josh's cock was snuggled between the shape of Aidan's buttocks through the coat, as well as cupped and tickled by the fur. The vampire rolled his hips and ground back against werewolf, smiling at the feel of hands running over him, fingers feeling at the fur.

After a couple of slow thrusts against his bottom, Josh's hands were pulling him upright, on to his knees. Josh gently craned Aidan's head back, and turned his face enough to kiss him on the mouth. A trail of small kisses lead him to Aidan's ear. "It's very sweet of you, and it does feel good, but I kinda feel like it's too silly to take seriously. I don't think I am THAT in to fur!"

Aidan looked back at his friend, and smiled. "I'm actually glad to hear you say that, because I am realizing that this coat is way too hot to be wearing in the house!" He paused for a self-deprecating chuckle. "Okay! I got it! Up, up, up!" He shooed the orderly off of the bed.

Standing, Aidan quickly took off the fur coat with relieved sigh. He spread the jacket out on the bed, like a fur coverlet. Smiling at Josh, he asked, "How is that?"

Appraising the bed with a critical eye, Josh nodded his approval. "I like it!"

Aidan moved to get back on to the bed and Josh said, "wait!" Aidan sent him a questioning look, so Josh continued, "Well… I don't want to ruin the coat. It's made of fur! Animals died to make it… we shouldn't just ruin it for one night of sex, it's not... respectful to the environment!"

Aidan nodded, thoughtful. He grabbed Josh's bath towel, folding it neatly and placing it in the middle of the bed, about where their hips would rest. "Tell you what!" He offered, "After we're done with it, I'll take it in to the cleaners, pay them to clean it, and tell them I would like it to be donated afterwards. How 'bout that?"

"Donate it to homeless pimps?" Josh smirked at him.

"Yes!" Aidan agreed, holding his arms out in front of him with his palms up to laud Josh's proclamation. "We'll donate this jacket to the poor, homeless pimps!"

Josh laughed, too, taking his hand and pulling him on to the bed. They lay on their sides, facing each other. Aidan poured a generous amount of lubricant in his hand.

"What kind of lubricant is this?" Josh asked.

"Gun Oil."

Josh gave his friend a weird look, his eyebrows drawing together.

The vampire smiled and shook his head. "It's just the name. It really is meant for this."

The orderly made a mental note to look on the internet to see if there really was a sexual lubricant called "Gun Oil." It didn't have a strong smell like he would expect for a lubricant meant for weaponry. He believed his friend, but if he didn't look it up, he would always wonder a little.

Scooting them close together, Aidan tipped his hand to drizzle the fluid over their genitalia, which had lost interest in the proceedings during the wardrobe change. "Give me your hand," he murmured to Josh.

The werewolf pressed his topside hand to Aidan's, brushing their hands together slowly, sliding sensuously in a sweet caress. Propping his head atop his clean hand and leaning forward, the vampire covered the younger man's mouth with his own to extend a wordless greeting and invitation to deepen the kiss, and touch wherever pleasure dictates.

It didn't take long for their slippery hands to drift down seeking to include the skin that is the most sensitive to touch. It was perfunctory at first: a couple of strokes to their own sex to be sure the lubricant was spread evenly over their rapidly reawakening manhood. Then, pressing their lengths together in their hands could stimulate both of them together. It felt very nice, but it was slightly unnatural to lie on your side without bending your legs forward, so they settled their hips back away from each other slightly. Dual stimulation became mutual stimulation. They touched each other languidly, kissing deeply and enjoying the experience. The kisses grew sparser as they explored each other; Varying the speed and firmness of their grip, and trying out little tricks they sometimes used on themselves to see if it was pleasing to their friend.

When they could sense their partner was getting close, they would redouble their attention to the kisses they shared and drop their hands lower to concentrate the manual stimulation on the other man's scrotal sac, alternating between a light grasp and feeling the testicles roll against their palm. Inevitably, the tension built up inside of them until they were eagerly anticipating the climax.

"Are you close?" Aidan asked in a breathy whisper.

The reply was more breathless than the question. "Uh-huh!"

"How close?" The vampire's voice was low and rumbly.

"Right on the edge, "Josh admitted.

"Are you ready?" There was a hint of amusement there, as if Aidan were prepared to keep Josh balanced there all day.

There were no fools in this bed tonight! "Yes…"

Snaking his bottom hand under Josh's neck to hold his head in place, Aidan kissed Josh hard while the hand gripping Josh's sex stroked faster and more firmly. It was only a matter of seconds before Josh was moaning in to Aidan's mouth. Losing his concentration to his orgasm, Josh's hand and tongue froze where they were. When he felt a spurt of warm fluid tickle over his thumb, the realization of what his friend was doing hit him. The thought, "Oh my god, I'm coming on Aidan's dick," made his moans louder and longer.

When the moans gave way to needing more air, Aidan let go of Josh's neck. The young man opened his eyes, searching his friend's face curiously for a few seconds before looking down to survey their handiwork. Josh expected to see one spot with ejaculate dripping off Aidan's pole. Nope! His experienced friend had done a much better job than that. Globs of Josh's semen were splashed unevenly along the length of Aidan's genitals; from the tip of the penis to the swell of his balls. The idea that he had just shot his spunk all over another man's corresponding apparatus that manufactured the same organic liquid… he knew he was supposed to be grossed out or repulsed by the "gayness" of it, but he wasn't. It was the most fucking hot thing he had ever seen!

When he looked up into Aidan's eyes again, his roommate gave him a self-deprecating smile and a one-shouldered shrug. "Sometimes I like to get a little dirty!"

That little confession surprised a small laugh out of Josh. It was just too cute! Meanwhile, he reminded himself, he still had his hand around his partner's staff and it was his turn. His eyes were drawn back down to the sight of his own load of cum dripping off another man's junk. Yep, still hot. He ran his thumb down Aidan's length, fascinated at the way the inconsistencies in the viscosity of his issue made it swirl, drip or spread out over the wet, resilient skin. He cupped his hand and ran it underneath the shaft to catch the bits that were about to drip off, using it as extra lubricant like Aidan had done the first time they were together.

Wrapping his hand around his friend's erection, Josh caught his eye and sent him a quick wink and a smile before scooting down to balance on his elbow and take Aidan's nipple between his teeth. Teasing the tantalized tip with the textured taste buds on his tongue, Josh suckled and nibbled the nubbin until it tingled. He lay down to repeat the procedure on the other side, freeing his bottom arm to reach down and fondle Aidan's balls; not only to stimulate his partner, but to enjoy the feel of his own spunk making it all nice and slippery. It was a little awkward, it would have been easier to put Aidan on his back, but Aidan was so close that repositioning now would only be a distraction, and Josh had kept him waiting long enough.

Sensations building up to a crescendo, soft moans tracked the vampire's journey to the peak. Pulsing and jerking, Aidan came, his ejaculate pooling harmlessly on to the towel beneath him as the younger man stroked his shaft throughout, knowing from experience to ease up on the head.

Josh waited a polite few seconds before rolling away to pick up the side of the towel he was laying on, dry off his hands, take a couple of careful swipes at the lubricant left on his genitalia, then helped extricate the towel from under Aidan so he could clean himself off. Throwing on some boxers and a t-shirt, Josh headed off to the bathroom, returning a couple moments later with clean washcloths; one wet and one dry. Aidan availed himself of both, set them aside with Josh's dirty towel.

Josh was surprised when Aidan sent him a delighted grin and dived back on to the bed face down to make a fur angel. He was even more amazed when the vampire tossed his hips back and forth like Elvis until Josh laughed. When had Aidan ever done anything silly just to get Josh to laugh? "Maybe YOU'RE the one with the thing for fur!" Josh accused him teasingly.

Aidan gave a little laugh and rolled on to his side, hugging a pillow to his chest. He pointed at Josh. "I've got a homework assignment for you!"

"Okay," Josh said slowly, sitting down on the bed next to Aidan.

"I want you to go to a sex shop and pick up something for us to use together tomorrow night."

"Something?" Josh sounded confused. "Like what?"

"That's up to you! Whatever you want to use!"

"Anything?" The most far out thing Josh could think of popped into his mind; props for infantilism, people who got a thrill from dressing up like babies and having others take care of them: bottles, diapers, pacifiers, cribs, the whole nine yards. Josh wasn't the slightest bit interested in it, but couldn't help but wonder what Aidan would do if that were his secret kink. "Anything," he said to himself, wracking his brain. Nothing serious came to mind.

"Yep! You bring something, and I'll bring something!"


	11. RoRChapter10

"If I were god there would be no explicit sex on TV.  
Like little Opie eating pie when he made it with Aunt Bea."  
- Hell yeah, Hooray for Boobies. The Bloodhound Gang.

The Reciprocity of Ratiocination.

Chapter 10: A Shopping Trip Down Memory Lane.

Finding an adult shop these days wasn't hard. A quick Internet search and a detour after work found him crossing the threshold of a medium sized sex shop. He was new to this one; he hadn't been to an adult shop since before he was turned. His eyes were doing that first cursory sweep to take on the layout of the store when he was greeted by an unadorned middle aged woman wearing a ponytail and a blouse sporting the store logo.

"Hi," she waited until Josh made eye contact before saying, "if you need any help, just let me know."

Josh nodded readily, and the woman gave him a smart nod in return. She then left him to his own devices to browse the stores wares.

Immediately greeting customers was a large display of dildos in a pleasing assortment of sizes and colors. He and Aidan were both "outies" and didn't really need another stick in play, so on he went.

The next display was an exploration booth, containing examples of the masturbatory devices designed for men: sleeves. Curious, Josh stuck his finger into the holes to see what they felt like inside. The sleeves ranged from firm spiral ridges to pedal soft tentacles. The most popular brand was designed to look like a flashlight. Sleeves sometimes got a bad rap. The opening on many models were shaped like a mouth or vulva, which gave some people the impression that the toys would be unnecessary if the man had a real mouth or vulva to use. Like many vibrators these days that move in corkscrew motions, are filled with massage beads, and have special clitoral stimulators; penetrative toys for men offered a unique experience that feels far different than intercourse.

He needed something he and Aidan and could use together, and the sleeves were made to fit just one dude. Should he get three or four different textures, and they can try them out together? He felt out the idea, but it didn't really grab him. That seemed like something a person would do when they were trying to work up to gay sex, or they were trying to spice things up when it got too boring. Sleeping with Aidan definitely was too new to be looking to spice it up, and turning their next session into a semi platonic circle jerk seemed like a step backwards. Nora had been super pissed at the "dial it back" campaign he had pulled with her, even though he had good intentions. He didn't want to make the same mistake here. Realistically, there wasn't anything those sleeves could do for them that they couldn't accomplish with their own hands.

Maybe he should get one for himself? Josh considered it. Even if he used condoms to keep it clean, he would still have to take it to the bathroom to wash off the lubricant. He would look pretty silly carrying a flashlight back and forth to a bathroom he could find with his eyes closed. Come to think of it, the chances that savvy Sally didn't know what a Fleshlight was were practically nil. Not that he would die of embarrassment if she knew. She was a big girl and probably had a few toys of her own when she was alive. It wasn't a matter of keeping it a deep dark secret; she had watched him jack off before they had ever met. It was a matter of privacy and respecting personal boundaries by not flaunting that he was getting off with a toy. Maybe use it in the shower, he thought. Carry it into the bathroom tucked in his towel, and carry it back out clean tucked into his dirty clothes! Josh had never owned one, and they were a bit on the expensive side. Josh decided to check online vendors to peruse the feedback sections before choosing one. Moving on…

The next aisle was butt plugs, also in a wide assortment of colors and sizes. From small spade shapes to… I kid you not… Replicas of entire arms! One arm had its fingertips extended and touching to form a point to facilitate entry. The other arm's hand was formed into a fist. It was not at all creepy that there were full adult-sized arms meant to penetrate our most tender orifices, but it was somehow creepy that both of them were right arms. If he was going to put something that big up his ass, it damn well was going to be something that could enjoy it! This was not what he was looking for!

The vibrator aisle was next. They had already covered vibrators, so Josh had almost walked past them when a small package in the bottom corner caught his eye. He found himself staring at it…

The last time Josh had been to a sex shop was with his fiancée, Julia. Her roommate and best friend was a little overbearing, and had a habit that drove Julia nuts. Every time they were in the bathroom together, the roommate would grab her lipstick saying, "I forgot mine, mind if I borrow yours?" She would already be a applying the lipstick before Julia could answer.

So Julia decided to play a little trick: she bought a vibrator that was disguised as a tube of lipstick. It couldn't have gone off any better. The next time her roommate grabbed the vibrator, rhetorically asked for permission, and actually pulled it back to examine it when it failed to leave any color on her lips. Julia's voice was disapproving as she scolded her. "Oh, Chelsea! Don't put your mouth on that, it's my vibrator!" Chelsea actually cried out dramatically as she tossed the vibrator away from her like it burned. She grabbed her toothbrush, and with the toothpaste frothing like mad, she brushed her lips with gusto while Julia made a big show of washing the vibrator clean as it buzzed away under the water faucet. As far as Josh knew, that was the only story that little gossip kept quiet in her entire life. Julia called him straight after and gave him the blow by blow of how perfectly it had worked. Recalling that story when the two of them were together would never fail to bring a smile to their lips.

Josh drank in the sight of those same little vibrators. Wherever she was, Julia probably still had hers. He wondered if she ever used it after he left. If she had, did she think of him like he sometimes thought of her? Pretending they were still happy and hopeful, and… Human?

The bell above the door chimed and the saleslady greeted a couple who looked to be in their early thirties; probably married. The wife was looking at everything with a pleasant anticipation. The husband was looking uncomfortable, warily eyeing the security cameras. By the time the wife found the sleeve booth he looked ready to leave, wanting to lead her through the shop quickly. "Oh my god! There like… Fake vaginas!" she enthused, touching each one. The husband glanced around embarrassed. Josh glanced away before they could make eye contact.

A pair of young ladies were next to be greeted through the door. They looked like college freshman. Both of them were trim, with tans that seemed a little too perfect and eyes that were too defined for them to be natural blonds. They acknowledged the clerk, and immediately set in giggling over the dildos.

He needed to get his head back in the game here! A fake tube of lipstick isn't why he came here! The next aisle was textiles, frilly lingerie that hinted at costume. There were also some available for men, both the banana hammock variety and more feminine styles cut with extra room for the package in front. It didn't take a lot of consideration to discount this aisle. It would be entertaining for a minute, and then he would just have to take it off. It wasn't anything he could really incorporate for them both to use. There was underwear for two people of course, but it was usually a novelty stamped "Just Married." Moving on…

The next aisle finished the clothing section with leather, and included cock rings and rectal vibrators. Josh mulled over the selections. They had kind of covered animal skins last night. Leather was something you needed quite a bit of to make it a "thing", and even just the assless chaps were too expensive for a one-off novelty. So, no. Cock rings are for people who have difficulty achieving and maintaining an erection. Not a problem that either Josh or Aidan have. They could be used for staying power to prolong sex, but that didn't seem it all appealing. This wasn't an endurance contest and it could lead to chafing! Nope, stretching out the sex was majorly unnecessary, and they had already covered the vibrating rectums territory. Moving on…

The strap-ons on the next aisle didn't even bear considering. Cat of nine tails and horse whips? Nah, the old slap and tickle was fine without taking more of the beating. Long, thin scarves were on display for binding purposes, possibly a garrote. Sleeping with Aidan was dangerous enough, it was absolutely imperative that they maintain a large margin of safety. No one was getting tied down or choked!

The next aisle turned out to be the back wall. He had already been through most of the store! Here were the favors for Bachelorette parties. Cartoon penises abounded. Penis hats, light up penis pins, even penis ring pops. How could he use a penis ring pop, he wondered. Well, his mind supplied helpfully, you could put it on and then lick and suck on it, then have him lick and suck at it, then you can lick at it together, and pretty soon you're not licking the ring your licking each other… Josh rolled his eyes. Yeah, no thanks, he told the voice. Working with what they had without being a big baby about it was a far cry from pretending to be seriously into penis.

Next was a small section for couples. A selection of books on romance and intimacy, And a selection of innocuous sex games including fuzzy pink dice that when rolled would give instructions. (Kiss… Thigh! Okay! Mmmm-wah! Now what?) They weren't looking for intimacy, and they weren't really the type to play cutsie little games. This was stuff for couples, and he and Aidan were definitely not a couple!

Passing the silly novelties for bachelor parties, he moved on to a glass display case. He saw a small selection of high-end butt plugs that were made of smooth, shiny metal and capped with a cut glass jewel. The jewels were well formed, colorful and easily caught the light with sparkles. Josh could well imagine what they looked like when they were inserted. It would look as if that little anal pucker had been replaced with a glittering jewel. The more Josh looked at them, the more their message seemed somewhat ambiguous. Was it "I'm keeping the light on for you" or "for decorative purposes only. Please use the facilities in front"? They were very pretty, but he simply could not imagine a situation when only a bedazzled butthole would do, and anything less would be gauche. Fascinating as they were, he wasn't in the market for fancy butt plugs.

That left only one table, the lubricants. His eyes skimmed around the display looking for the words gun oil. He had never gotten around to looking it up. He found it. Aidan must get the largest size, and carry a little bottle for convenience. He took stock of what was offered. A lot of sugary fruit flavored lubricants. In Josh's opinion, the sugary ones were too sweet. They tasted like cough syrup to him. The idea of cough syrup covered cock wasn't appealing. They usually showered before they were together, so even to Josh their most intimate places just tasted like clean skin. Not to mention the sugar in glycerin wasn't good for a woman's PH balance. It could give more sensitive women yeast infections. OK, he didn't need to worry about Aidan getting a yeast infection, and as far as Josh understood the situation, the only thing Aidan could actually taste was blood. Josh thought back: was there anything besides blood that Aidan chose to consume? Yes, he realized. Liquor. Aidan kept a bottle of vodka in the freezer, and when they went out to the bar he always ordered a whisky drink, like scotch or bourbon. Josh looked over the selection and sure enough, came up with a bourbon flavored lubricant. Of course, Josh wasn't sure if there was something in the vodka and aged whiskey that the vampire could actually taste, or if Aidan just liked the reputation of those particular beverages.

OK! Finally, Josh had something to bring tonight! He also spotted a box that was a variety pack of cocktail flavors. He picked one of those up too, just in case Aidan would prefer the scent of those to his usual drink. Or didn't want his favorite drink spoiled by slurping it off of Josh's cock.

A familiar set caught his eye. It was the same set he and Julia had used once upon a time. He slid his eyes over the familiar labels, his mouth watering slightly as he remembered how he had enjoyed her naturally musky taste combined with those flavors. He looked away. That was over! But after a couple of seconds, Josh looked back. This was about him taking back his life. As was their way, he and Julia had done their homework before selecting that particular set of flavored lubricants. It contains no sugar or glycerin, and the flavoring was from all natural extracts. It was safe for even the most sensitive woman, so he could trust it would be OK to use with any partner. Aidan, Nora… Or someone else, maybe. He added the set to the boxes cradled in his arm.

He was just turning to go when a blue aerosol can caught his eye from the on sale basket. It looked like a half size paint can, but when he took off the lid, there was a nozzle like for shaving cream. He shook the can and sprayed a little on his finger. It foamed up white, and on his tongue it was a lightly sweet cinnamon. It tasted like Christmas! Thinking the foam texture might be fun to play with, he took his selections up to the counter to pay for them.

The two college girls had beaten him to the registers. Each of them had picked out three vibrators for themselves. Josh tried not to look, to keep his thoughts clean and not imagine what these girls would look like spread out naked and using their new toys. He failed, and then he felt guilty for being the pervy-loner-in-the-sex-shop-guy. These were nice young ladies and he had no call to be thinking about them like that! He was a monster, he reminded himself. He shouldn't be anywhere near these girls. And come on… they giggled at the dildos, a sure sign they were WAY too immature to interest him!

"Have you used vibrators like these before?" The cashier asked them. They both shook their heads. While she opened the packages, the saleslady then gave them a well-worn speech explaining the strict no return policy in the adult shop, and how all electronic devices must be tested for functioning at the time of purchase. The clerk explained how each one worked as she tested it, a running tutorial that had the BFF's riveted. Each girl paid with a credit card, and they beamed at each other as they walked out with their little black bags. Josh couldn't help but give a small laugh, it was really cute!

"Find everything OK?" He was asked when he stepped up to the register. He nodded. "And will you be needing anything else to day?" The clerk asked; a standard question to see if he had been wanting to purchase anything they kept locked in the display cases.

"Nope, this will be all!"

"Do you need a bag?"

"Uh, no. I'll just put it in my backpack." He paid cash, and as he packed away his goodies three college guys in letterman's jackets walked in.

One of them hit the guy in front of him with the back of his hand. "Dude this party is gonna be fuckin' epic!" Together, they made a beeline for the bachelor's party section. No doubt for shot glasses with silhouettes of naked ladies, cheap condoms to use as balloons, and a blow up doll for a party mascot.

Josh glanced around one last time at the couple, who were browsing through the anal vibrators. As he walked out the door, he heard the woman's voice tracking after him. "Ooooh! This one's nice! What you think about this one, honey?"

Luckily, both men arrived home at a reasonable hour. Fed and showered, they were simply dressed in boxers and t-shirts. "OK," Aidan opened, sitting on the bed and getting the ball rolling. "What did you bring?" Josh opened his night stand, and handed him the box that looked like Jack Daniels. The vampire's lips curved into a curious smile as he read the label. "Whiskey Dick?" he sounded a little dubious.

"I also got this one, just in case you wanted something different!" Josh took out the box labeled Body Shots and placed it next to Aidan on the bed. "And I have an all-natural set if you prefer or…" Josh pulled out the blue can, "this one, that's like whipped cream."

Aidan gave a little laugh. "I think I'll try the bourbon!" he took the bottle out of the box, opened it and sniffed at it. His eyebrows rose, which had to be a good sign.

"Uh, what did you bring?" Josh could see Aidan was holding something in the palm of his hand. He had been so worried about finding the right thing he didn't think much on what Aidan was bringing. The idea was making him nervous now.

Putting the bottle of lubricant down on the bed, Aidan unrolled two long, light brown, supple straps of leather. "A leash!"

Josh felt the hesitant confusion envelop his whole body. _Don't put that around my neck_ was his first thought. Both of them had a serious medical condition that predisposed them to poor impulse control. Auto erotic asphyxiation was most decidedly not a good idea.

"Arab straps are used these days to hold cockrings in place, but we see at least two guys a year coming into the emergency room with the metal cockrings stuck. They are so swollen that their ring has to be cut off with bolt cutters, and they are often forever after rendered impotent. A manual tie is much safer, and it's an interesting sensation. I thought it would be fun."

Josh still looked unsure.

"It's OK, I'm a nurse!" Aidan joked.

Josh put his hesitancy behind him. Open mind, sense of humor… He could do this. He smiled and nodded acquiescence.

"OK… Go ahead and take off your clothes."

Quickly divesting himself of his clothes, he placed himself at Aidan's disposal. Aidan directed him to stand in a more open position. Josh felt ridiculous standing there with one foot on the floor and one on the bed, his legs splayed open and his sleeping sex on display out in the cool air.

"I do need you to be a little bit hard for this, so…" Aidan stood up gave Josh a short, soft kiss of greeting before moving back down, ghosting his lips over Josh's chest. Slow kisses were pressed against Josh's stomach, and Aidan's thumbs gently rubbed back and forth, one on Josh's hip, and one on Josh's inner thigh. "Joshie," Aidan sing-songed. Josh began to laugh silently, feeling ridiculous now not only for his physical position, but for the fact that Aidan's small ministrations were obviously perking up his interests. "You like me," Aidan teased.

"Shut up!" Josh retorted helplessly, laughing.

Aidan gently blew across Josh's abdomen. "So… Oral is your kink?"

Josh's mouth dropped open as the realization hit him. It was a test! Aidan just wanted to see what he would bring, and he went and brought back the most common, boring, vanilla marital aid on the market. He even brought one home that tasted like vanilla beans! "You said something we could use together. I was trying to find something I knew you liked!" Josh could hear the defensiveness in his voice. "The only two things I could think of were bourbon and…" Josh started to laugh again, "women." Aidan naturally joined in as Josh closed his eyes and shook his head.

"S'okay," Aidan assured him.

It suddenly hit Josh that his friend was literally up for anything he brought home. Hindsight being 20/20, he now realized he should have come home with nipple clamps, a spreader bar, and a cheerleader outfit so he could live out his favorite fantasy from high school: The Repentant Cheerleader. "_I was so wrong about you Josh! Those jocks are all impotent jerks, their little needle dicks can't satisfy a real woman like me… Not like a thinking man like you can! Take me Josh! I want you to work my body like it was made by Texas Instruments!_" and of course in the fantasy Josh sexes up the vixen so thoroughly that afterwards the neighbors need a smoke. It would have been major! Like… Bucket list major! And all he came home with was more lube. Way to go spaz, he told himself.

At least all wasn't lost, Josh thought. He was going to get a BJ tonight.

A casual smack of leather against his thigh brought his thoughts back to the present. "Pay attention," Aidan scolded. When Josh nodded, he went on. "Start it off like this…" he made a loop around Josh's half hardness. "It will tighten as you get hard, but the leather has enough give in it that it won't cut off your circulation." Aidan's fingers grasped the base of Josh's scrotum, forcing his balls to move lower in the sac. "Now, when doing a scrotal bind, you have to be very careful not to twist the spermatic cords." Step by step, the vampire walked him through the procedure. "Let's see how we did." Aidan said, picking up the lubricant. "If this feels like it's burning, or you need your strap adjusted, let me know, okay?"

With Josh's agreement, Aidan slipped a few drops onto his fingertips and smeared it over the head of Josh's cock. He looked up into Josh's eyes. The werewolf shrugged. "Feels fine."

Aidan poured a more generous amount into his hand and coated Josh's entire length and testicles with the stuff. The manual stimulation brought him to full hardness. Aidan then repeated the procedure on himself, talking the orderly through it one more time. Around the cock first, then wrapping upwards to bind the scrotum to the penile shaft, leaving the testicles down at the end of the bind with the scrotal skin stretched tight around them. Then wind the strap back on itself, tying it off. When Aidan finished tying his bind into place, he looked at Josh. "Pick your poison."

The orderly eyed the lubricants speculatively, just for show. He already knew which one he wanted to use. "This one," he said, brandishing the blue aerosol can. "Oh, wait!" carefully leaning over the far side of the bed, Josh grabbed two washcloths out of a laundry basket, appeared to reconsider, and leaned over again and picked up a hand towel.

Peeking over and surveying the basket, Aidan observed, "You bought new towels?"

"Yeah," the younger man answered dismissively. "Sally's old towels are getting a little thin. I thought we could do with some new ones." The new towels were all dark colors; Good for hiding semen stains. Josh paused for a moment, hesitated, and then felt awkward for stopping at all.

"Alright, get down there," Aidan gave his shoulder a push, and Josh landed on his side, head towards the foot of the bed. The vampire dove onto the bed after him, but with his head towards the headboard, scooting around until they were eye level with each other's groin.

Putting first things first, the orderly put down the hand towel between them as best he could. He put the washcloths down at either end. The older man was watching him with a twinkle in his eye. Aidan cleared his throat. "You ready?"

The younger man's tone was definite. "Yes."

Not wasting any time, the nurse went right to work. Licking, and then sucking the head of the younger man's shaft, earning him a deep moan.

Not wanting to be too distracted by the wonderful sensations radiating from his nether regions, Josh also got to work. He uncapped the can, pressed the button, and a large handful of foam expanded in his hand. The vampire's cock was plumped up nicely but not straining. Josh's eyes took in how the binding held the scrotum tight around the testicles, how tight the leather was molded around the penis. He touched the cream to the shaft, spreading it thick. Moving a cupped hand over the cream, he gave the lightest of massages; letting the cream do all the caressing. It was doing the trick though. Aidan's shaft was getting harder, growing larger and tightening its binding. Now that it was fully hard, Josh wished that he had picked out a clear lubricant so he could watch the movements of the skin as it changed positions. Josh tightened his grip, massaging more firmly and pushing the cream around. He felt the mouth licking and sucking him moving lower, enveloping his shaft. Christ, he was throbbing! Taking a firm hold of his friend's cock, he ran his thumb over the head as he sucked the whipped cream off the tied up testicles, exploring their unusual disposition with his tongue.

The werewolf was just starting to swirl his tongue around the shaft as he felt his friend's lips touch his distended scrotum. The mouth bobbed up and down his length a couple of times before going further down and sucking the balls in with the shaft. The young man moaned again, slipping a few inches of his friend into his mouth and sucking furiously to distract himself. When Aidan moaned and slipped his lips a little further down the bindings, nothing could distract Josh from the feel of the head of his cock clasped deep in Aidan's throat and his sensitized balls grazing the roof of Aidan's mouth. He laid a heavy hand on the top of Aidan's leg, the universal man sign for "back off, I'm getting close."

Obediently, Aidan froze for a long moment, then slowly pulled off completely. While Josh was working the older man's pole deeper into his mouth, Aidan started over again, with small licks and suckling kisses. They went on for some time like that, bringing each other close then backing off, varying the length and speed of their strokes. When his mouth got tired, Josh discovered that he could stroke Aidan's penis by tucking it between his chin and his chest and moving his head side to side.

They drew it out for as long as they could, but eventually, Josh gasped, "I'm really close. God, I feel like I'm three sizes bigger!" One large hand caught Josh's hip on his last thrust forward. The older man took Josh in all the way, balls and all to shoot straight down his throat. Josh wrapped his lips around the tip of Aidan's cock and moaned, bobbing his head slowly as he rode out his orgasm. A gigantic shiver ran up the young man spine when his shaft slid out of his best friend's throat, still rock hard. Aidan gave him a moment to recover, his thumb caressing Josh's hip.

Inspired, Josh silently rearranged Aidan's legs to a more open position. With the scrotum bound forward as it was, the perineum was also left tight and exposed. Getting up on his elbow, he liberally coated the fingers of the hand he had thus far not been using. Sliding his wet fingers along Aidan's cleft, his index and middle fingers moved to circle over Aidan's hole while his thumb found that little protrusion that was the prostate's external stimulation point. Stroking the shaft quickly with his other hand, and sucking at the testicles, it didn't take him a minute before he had Aidan moaning a warning. Josh pulled back so he could see his best friend climax, eyes riveted to the shaft in his hand is it jerked and pulsed, spurting its fluids onto the towel. Josh gave it a couple more slow strokes, running his fingertip firmly up the underside, milking it for every drop. Josh had seen plenty of guys climax in pornos, but he had to admit that in person, when you're the one to get the guy off, it was really awesome to watch. Aidan was licking at Josh's shaft, cleaning up stray drops of ejaculate that had escaped Aidan's throat under the flared head of Josh's hard sex.

The straps were working their magic, keeping both men just as hard as they had been before they came. Taking up the aerosol can once more; Josh sprayed a line of whipped lubricant down the underside of Aidan's prick, across his balls, and another line down his cleft for good measure. Like Aidan, Josh avoided licking the oversensitive glands at the tip. He worked his way down, tongue lapping up all the cream. Down below, the vampire began to mirror his movements. He swirled his tongue over each testicle, letting his teeth gently graze the skin as he sucked each one in turn. Moving over the leather tie, Josh resumed cleaning up the cream; licking in sucking at the perineum before ending his journey to that little ring of muscle guarding Aidan's entrance. Its texture and resilient resistance was endlessly fascinating to explore, and it had the side benefit of Aidan tonguing his sphincter in return. As before, however, tongue fatigue quickly won out and he pulled back with an audible pop. He heard Aidan chuckle when he pressed a kiss to the older man's inner thigh, and felt the vampire untying his strap.

Josh deftly undid the simple knot and carefully unstrapped Aidan's scrotum from his phallus, and then unwrapped and removed the strap all together. Josh looked at Aidan, and remarked "that was interesting. You know cool stuff." The vampire gave a soft laugh in reply, and they rested there for some time in companionable silence before cleaning up. Aidan spilled a little of the water from a water bottle on the night stand into one of the clean washcloths and wiped the straps clean. He rolled up the one that had been on Josh, and placed it in Josh's night stand drawer. The lubricants joined it, save for the one with a brandy flavoring, which was put back in its box for Aidan to keep. Underwear back on and light off, the men drifted off to sleep.


	12. RoRChapter11

"How do you let someone know  
if your hotcakes are selling well?"  
- This is Stupid, Hooray for Boobies. the Bloodhound Gang

The Reciprocity of Ratiocination.

Chapter 11. The Lady of the House.

Laid out on the couch, Sally tried to concentrate on the magazine she had spread open on the cushion in front of her. Her boys were upstairs, together. There had been lovers rooming here in the six months between her death and the arrival of her more specter-friendly roommates, but this time she felt the divide between the corporeal and incorporeal more keenly for a number a reasons. Sally had been dead for longer. The previous couples had arrived together in a relationship. Aidan and Josh, two people who originally had zero sexual interest in each other, were turning Josh's bedroom in to the Garden of Carnal Delights on a daily basis now for basically no other reason that they were both on the same plane of existence and they could. As fascinating as it was to watch how those two interacted these days, it was a glaring reminder that there wasn't much she could do to break away from the celibate sex life of the stone dead.

Added on to that rat's nest of issues was Sally's worry over the fact that they could seriously kill each other by accident! A week ago, Aidan had taken Josh to Bishop's old Blood Den. The place was currently disused and Sally knew why. The first thing the Dutch had done when they got to town was wipe out every bite happy beatnik that inhabited the place. Every drop of life in those kinky kooks was sucked away in moments by a quartet of imitation Amish. And that's the place where Aidan wanted to play with Josh! Aidan had asked Sally to be their lookout, and since she had nothing better to do, no doors to walk through or anything, she had agreed. The building had a very disturbed feel to it, whether it was the crazies or the killings she wasn't sure.

Josh had only been worried that there may be some uninformed vampires slinking in to town who were looking to drop in to the Blood Den for a nice hot meal and some company that wouldn't appreciate finding the place had been turned in to a werewolf den. But as Sally dutifully haunted the outside entrances, on the alert for any lurking supernaturals, she kept wondering what her boys were doing in there. Was Aidan biting him, using Josh like he was one of the usual menu items? And what if Aidan came out alone, saying that things had gone too far, that he made a mistake, and that Josh was dead? Alone with that thought in the dark, standing in a cold snap she couldn't feel, guarding a door that wasn't hers so the scary things that go bump in the night could bump into each other, she realized that as much as her afterlife sucked, it would suck even more if she lost one more thing: one of her boys. Somehow, that night she became the self-appointed hall monitor of their sex life.

Aidan had once told Sally that if she could affect anything in the world, that he would be wary of her. Well, now she could! As much as she loved Aidan, deep down she knew he was a killer with a weakness for living blood. If Sally was going to be on hand to make sure Aidan didn't lose it and kill Josh, she had to make sure her boys felt comfortable being together in her house so she could keep an eye on them without them realizing she was doing it.

Aidan had left later that night to visit the vampires in New York for a couple of days, and while Josh was working at the hospital, Sally was home working on her Ghost Skillz. She didn't want a repeat of the Danny and Bridget debacle, when her inability to stop seething over the idea of the two of them together kept pulling her back into the room where they were crawling all over each other like rodents. It had been horrifying!

Sally deduced the skills she would need would be Arriving Invisibly, and Refracting. In the beginning, she had a slight problem with not being able to keep herself drawn together enough to stay visible to those who could see her. Once she learned the knack of staying visible, for the most part she clung to it. She had wanted to be seen, as if she was still alive with a body and a place in the world. When Sally had learned to teleport, she learned to do it while she was visible. She knew how to be invisible, and she was confident in her teleportation skills, but felt she could use some more practice to invisibly teleport reliably. Arriving Invisibly was easy once she realized the trick: you have to imagine the room you are going to, and imagine you are in the room, but the room is empty, like you ARE the room. She did this many times, jumping from the living room to in front of the bathroom mirror until she was sure she had better control over her invisibility. She could feel her consciousness collect just enough to be THERE, but not enough to see herself in the mirror.

Refracting was grabbing control at those times she would be unconsciously pulled to their bedrooms just because she was thinking about them, not because she thought that there was any danger. This was trickier than Arriving Invisibly, because she had to realize first that she WAS going, then WHERE she was going, and then take over and vector herself back out and to a different spot before she fully arrived at the first location. So she practiced feeling pulled into Josh's room, then jumping away to plant herself visible outside of Josh's door. It was scary the first few times, Sally felt like she was in a whirlwind where she might get swept up in the chaos forever. But she held on, and had faith in herself, and kept on practicing until it wasn't so scary. In the end, it was still a little jarring to the system, like taking a long jump in the pitch dark where the landing feels either two beats too early or too late, but tolerable. To safeguard Josh's life, it was worth it. And to be honest, it was good to have a purpose. After missing her door, nothing scared her more than the endless yawning span of useless time that lay ahead of her. At first, she had thought that perhaps getting closure with her family and friends was the key to another door, but when she really examined her feelings, she realized that she didn't have any pressing unfinished business with anyone that she could resolve in a one sided exchange. Seeking out the people from her past now could only create issues. So she would turn her energies to those people in her life now.

For Sally, there had been two ghosts that had drifted through her afterlife that had predeceased her. Both of these men found ways to keep themselves busy: Tony DiPaulo and her old college crush, Nick Fenn. Tony had gotten the ghost-thing down and helped other newly departed to get a handle on their situation and through their door. With Sally, Tony had found the mirror he needed to wonder about his own loose ends. Instead of Sally getting her door, Tony got his. But Sally didn't think she could carry on Tony's gig as a make-work hobby with possible cosmic brownie points. Seeing other people's doors welcoming everyone but her to the next level would tear her up with jealousy. Tony's trade secret had been that he wasn't actively looking to move on. Sally was yearning for her door so bad she ached, so that plan was no good. Nick was on a continuous journey of self-improvement; going to classes, seeing the most renown musicians in concert, watching sporting tournaments from the front row. Nick's proactive enjoyment of the world still living around them would have been a welcome energy in her existence, except for the whole addicted-to-drowning-every-day deal breaker. Although Sally had been good in academics, and loved a good flow of fresh and interesting thoughts and experiences to turn over and examine in her mind, she wasn't ready to adopt Nick's lifestyle either. Having worked so hard for her door and missing it, Nick's way of life just seemed like a distraction. Unless Nick's biggest regret was not fitting seven lifetimes of learning and experience into his twenty plus years, seeing Yo Yo Ma or the Red Sox from the dugout wasn't ever going to bring him resolution. Aidan's explanation of the ghosts stuck at the hospital haunted her.

Established in the early 1600s, Boston was one of the oldest cities in the United States. Before that, artifacts showed that Native Americans tribes had lived here since the time before our recorded histories. Yet, the oldest ghost she had seen was around one hundred years old. There were no buckskin braves, no musket-toting red coats wandering these ancient streets. Where were they? Was there such a thing as an after-life span? She wouldn't think so. In the modern ghost stories that were told from the ghost's point of view, unbeknownst to themselves the ghosts slowly drifted away from reality. They would see some of elements of reality but miss other things; their minds created illusions to trick them into thinking they were still able to interact with the living world. Is that what really happens? Without the five senses to tether them to reality, does their soul become unmoored from the world of the living? Is that what Tony meant when he said that all ghosts eventually go crazy, that they go invisible and slip into an unreality that is forever beyond the reach of another soul without even realizing it? Or when the very last shred of hope and passion is gone from them, do they spread out, dissipate, and blow away? And if that happens, are they really gone? Are they in a place we would recognize as heaven or hell? Or are they trapped in some sort of dormant state, never to remember themselves and be able to move on or be saved?

Maybe she should be more positive. Maybe eventually all ghosts retired to Cancun or Atlantis like living people go to Florida and Arizona...

Maybe not.

If she had a second chance, a second puzzle piece that needed to be resolved, she didn't want to twiddle away her time as the structure needed to fit that missing piece was still in existence, before all traces of her life rotted away and was lost to time. If the answer was here, it was here NOW. But where? In what direction? She had no clue. All she could do was to keep herself busy and focused while she kept her eyes peeled for a way out. When she wasn't home, she was reading the walls of the hospital, wandering the parks watching people live, looking for answers, looking for an inspiration that could lead her to discover the answers for herself. If there were answers to all of her questions, where are they hiding?

When Aidan returned home, the enthusiasm with which her boys went at each other had been surprising. She had happened upon them one day getting their party started in the kitchen. Either they were suddenly way more into each other than was previously apparent, or there was a weird sort of competition between the two of them, as if they were vying to see who could get the other one turned on enough to betray their condition first; like Aidan was trying to get Josh growling before Josh could get Aidan's fangs to come out. It would have been so much easier to get out of the house and give them their privacy, but the fear of returning to find only one "living" occupant stopped her. It turns out the two of them were quite a noisy pair! Good thing she had practiced Refracting because at first every bump, squeak, curse, and moan would pull her up there, and she would push away hard to find herself dumped out in front of Josh's door. She would listen for a moment, and hearing no signs of life-threatening distress, concentrate on relocating herself back downstairs. And the longer the arrangement between the two of them was playing out, the noisier they got! The moans were louder, joined by approbations and requests.

Eventually she acclimated and was able to ignore most of the mating sounds coming from up there. But then there would be a bark of laughter from Josh, or an especially loud moan from Aidan, and HOLY CRAP, WHAT THE HELL ARE THEY DOING UP THERE would go through her mind, and there she would go, pulled again. Sometimes she was tempted to perve on the two of them, see what they were up to together. Maybe her knowing exactly what they were doing would put her curiosity to rest and stop her from being pulled to them. That was why she had practiced jumping into a room invisibly, after all. But there was a nagging worry that since they knew she was there in the house, they would sense her presence in the room and call her out, losing trust in her and moving the action to another place. Or, she would see too much, get caught with a case of the guilties at breakfast the next morning with the same result. What if they had an inflatable sex doll up there and they used it to pretend they were eating human victims together to get themselves turned on? Or what if Josh was letting the wolf take over and eating Aidan's droppings for gods know what reason? She would like to think they weren't up to anything so far outside of her own personal comfort zone, but neither of them was human now and she couldn't completely discount the possibility. And seeing them getting up to stuff like that in her house wasn't something her poker face was good enough to cover the next morning. Or maybe ever again. So she was being a good girl. Dammit.

Turning the page in the magazine, there was an article about a man that would spend an entire year building one dollhouse, making it as realistic as possible, for the purpose of donating it to a family in crisis or an institution at Christmas time. The article showed pictures of miniature clocks that ticked, doors with working knobs, and windows that could open or lock shut. Dollhouses fascinated her as a child. They were entire worlds all under her sole control. She thought about the Twilight Zone episode where there were living figures in a doll house. She wondered if she could shrink herself down, and explore those miniature rooms as if it were a real home. What were the limits of her existence? Could some ghosts go crazy, and miniaturize themselves to flit around in the woods, forever after believing they were fairies? She kinda doubted it, because if the living-impaired could determine their dimensions, there would be Godzilla Ghosts tromping around the city, twelve foot Golems with intimidating stares, and freaky two foot Juju women. She had only seen normal people-sized ghosts. Still, it was an interesting idea to be able to kick back inside of an Arabian bottle containing a bed of fluffy silk pillows like I Dream of Jeanie. If she ever found herself in a hobby shop on a slow night, maybe she would give it a try.

She thought about Josh, and the two journals he had upstairs; his own, and the journal of the werewolf he killed, Douglas. Ghosts couldn't see the future, but she could imagine Josh as a successful but eccentric doctor who had a home with a large sound-proofed steel-reinforced basement made up to look like a forest, and a bizarre hobby of collecting rare journals that had been penned by people who claimed to be werewolves.

A guide book sure would have been helpful for her, a reference book where she could just look up the ins and outs of the afterlife. You would think with all the great minds that have passed out of life to date, one of them would have looked upon the afterlife as an unconquered intellectual domain. You would think that someone or another would have felt that they were the chosen one to quantify and clarify the post-biological human experience. She was looking to take the next door outta here as soon as possible, so she certainly wasn't hanging around to write one. Maybe the fact that no one had written a guidebook was an answer in itself. People weren't supposed to have those answers provided to them, they were meant to earn their ascendance through their own journey. How… Zen.

If there was no way out, would she want to know it immediately? If there were a book, how could you trust that it had all the answers? What if there were several ways out of here, and the book said there were none? She wouldn't be looking because she believed that there were none, and she really would be stuck here forever! And she would bet dollars to donuts that there were a million stories out there that were completely unique that didn't fit together in such a way to hint at the underlying structure of the universe. She sighed. These were the most likely reasons that there wasn't a Handbook for the Recently Deceased. It wasn't that it was every soul for themselves, it was that they were all united in the same, slightly customized boat.

She was abruptly startled from her musings by a cry of pain from Josh, followed by the sound of a body being struck.

Sally was up there in an instant, in the room and visible to the left of the bed, looking down on the pair. Both of her boys were fully naked, lying on their stomachs. Aidan was lying between Josh's legs, his arms hooked over Josh's thighs and his head over Josh's hips, looking up at Josh with blackened eyes and fangs, a small smear of blood on his lips. Josh was glaring over his right shoulder back at Aidan. Neither man immediately realized she was there.

"What happened?" Sally demanded in a loud voice, feet planted and her hands on her hips. Her eyes registered that they were both intact, not engaged in an ongoing fight to the death, and the fact there were two of the cutest pairs of tight, naked buns out in the open for her perusal.

"Aidan bit me!" Josh answered her quickly, not taking his eyes off of Aidan and sounding like a tattling five year old.

Aidan's jaw dropped as his head shook minutely from side to side as if he meant to refute the accusation. But it was hard to give the guy any benefit of the doubt taking the darkened eyes, fangs, and the single set of bleeding fang marks in Josh's right buttock in to account.

"I was marking you!" Aidan defended, his brows drawing together.

"You couldn't have warned me?" Josh asked him, still irritated.

"The whole purpose to this exercise is to see how you respond to being claimed. Warning you would kinda ruin seeing how you respond!"

"It hurt!"

"It wouldn't have hurt so much if you had just stayed still! You're not supposed to jump around when you're impaled, Josh! Is that what you learned in your premed classes? You made the holes way bigger!" A note of amusement entered Aidan's tone of voice as he pointed at Josh's face with a capped black felt tip marker to emphasize his words. "Now I bet you're gonna be feeling that tomorrow every time you have to squat down with your little dustpan!"

Sally looked at the pen in Aidan's hand, and then back down at Josh, tipping her head to read the words written across the top of Josh's naked hips: "Property of Aidan Waite". The "I"s was dotted with little hearts. On Josh's right buttock were the fang marks sluggishly seeping blood. It was definitely not a fatal wound, it didn't even look like it would bother to bleed much longer. On the left buttock was a reddening handprint. Aidan must have given Josh a reflexive, sharp slap on the butt when Josh started to struggle to make him stop, Sally reasoned. That was the hit she had heard from downstairs.

"Oh, God!" Josh exclaimed, dropping his face down into his pillow to hide. He lifted his head a little to say, "If I get in to an accident walking in to work tomorrow and the people at work see this, I am so going to kill you!"

The vampire shrugged. "Look at the bright side! At least I'll be able to visit you in your hospital room. When they ask me if I'm family, I'll tell them 'No, but if you'll just check his bottom, you'll see that I OWN HIS ASS!' " Aidan uncapped the pen with his teeth, using the ink to outline the ghostly, globular handprint standing out red and angry on Josh's left buttock. "You're gonna remember me, boy!" He enthused around the pen cap clutched in his teeth.

Josh groaned, hiding his face in the pillow again.

Yeah, Sally mentally told herself, this seems like a private moment. She threw her hands up in the air and said "I'm outta here!" She turned and took a couple of steps towards the door to show them that she was leaving, then jumped to the small outside front porch under the living room window. She let the laughter come. Those two were so cute, and they looked like they had it under control for now. She was officially off duty for the day!


	13. RoRChapter12

"Every time I think that  
I'm the only one who's lonely,  
Someone calls on me."  
- Along Comes Mary, Hooray for Boobies. The Bloodhound Gang.

The Reciprocity of Ratiocination.

Chapter 12: Uphill Battles, Making Headway.

Coming back home from working a double, Josh winced as he dropped his bag.

"You okay?" Aidan asked

Straightening, Josh pressed his palms in to his back, slowly stretching his torso side to side. "I think I twisted by back a little today. I was cleaning up, and I felt a jolt. Now the muscles are all stiff and sore."

"Have you eaten?" Aidan was looking like a man with a plan.

"Yeah, I grabbed something on my last break."

"Good. How about a nice hot shower to loosen up the muscles, and then a massage?" Aidan offered.

Josh groaned, still working at the muscles, "Oh, that sounds perfect."

Aidan quirked his head towards the stairs. "Come on, then. No time like the present."

That earned a surprised and skeptical smile from the tired orderly. "You're gonna shower with me?"

"Yep!" Aidan turned and started up the stairs. "Come on," he urged again.

Josh turned to look at Sally, his wave hello turning in to an awkward point to indicate his immediate need to depart.

Sally waved him off, giving him a little smile. "We'll talk later," she assured him.

He gave her a small nod, but still felt a little stab of guilt in his chest. On one hand, Josh knew that Sally wasn't still hanging around here for him and he was forced to wonder: how much responsibility did he have to entertain her? On the other hand, she did seem to be so lost lately, and they were friends. He needed to find something that he could do with Sally that would be a thing shared just between the two of them. Later, he told himself. He would come back down and talk to her later.

He grabbed his towel on his way from his room, joining Aidan in the bathroom, who was already in the process of getting undressed. He undressed himself, finishing just as Aidan got the water warmed up and the shower running.

The vampire stepped in first, and gave a hand to Josh for balance as he stepped in to the tub. It was a tight squeeze; the curved curtain rod at the top was only big enough to surround one person. Since it was impossible to shower without brushing up against the shower curtains, making sure the curtain was clean was a must. Knowing quality will save you money in the long run, Josh had bought a more expensive, durable shower curtain that he washed and treated regularly to keep it free of soap residue, mold and mildew. He bought a pink one as a nod to Sally's presence, also because sticking to a light color would let through more light, and the pink wouldn't show slight discolorations as easily as a white curtain.

Stepping back against the curtain to give them a little more room, Aidan let the majority of the water cascade over Josh's back as his large, strong hands pressed and rubbed at the tense muscles. He brought Josh's arms up to embrace his neck so he could control the stretch and angle of his roommate's back. Not a lot of time had passed before he could feel his friend relaxing against him and humming with satisfaction at his progress.

He eased Josh back far enough to give him a long, slow kiss. Aidan was careful to always begin with a kiss with Josh; he had taken a lesson from the aftermath of their first time. He wanted Josh to taste and recognize him first just in case they needed that cue to maximize the programming's effect, and to reassure the wolf that it was in safe hands. In the wild, real wolves lick at each other's mouths to greet one another, tasting a fellow pack member as a hello was an inborn instinct. Aidan in no way meant the gesture to be manipulative or demeaning to Josh as a person. It was the single most effective gesture he could think of that could possibly put Josh at ease on a whole. Both he and Josh found kissing to be relaxing and arousing. It helped them slip in to the mood when they were together. And if that wolf was somehow aware of him deep inside of Josh's mind, Aidan owed the guy a solid for not ripping him limb from limb; So a little wolfy hello wasn't too much to ask. Plus, he liked the way that ritual set an affectionate tone for their time together. Josh had avoided lovers for so long because he was afraid he wouldn't be gentle, so practicing the kind of lovemaking Josh wanted to be doing with women seemed like the best thing for his friend.

Aidan winked, and keeping one hand on Josh's back, he put the edge of his other hand firmly on Josh's forehead, to guide Josh's head backwards into the flow of water and protect the younger man's eyes from the spray. He pulled Josh back towards him, wiping the water from Josh's forehead before reaching down around his friend to grab the shampoo. When Josh reached for it, Aidan pulled it back and shook his head. "Nope, I'm going to bathe you. It's your assignment tonight to let me."

A small amount of trepidation crossed Josh's face, but he acquiesced quickly. "Alright, but do I get to wash you back?"

"Yes, you can if you'd like."

Josh allowed the nurse to wash him, his hands pressed lightly on Aidan's sides to help keep them balanced. His hands moved to Aidan's shoulders when Aidan got down on one knee in front of him, leaving one knee bent forward to use as a platform to wash Josh's legs and feet.

The nurse did a thorough job, cleaning every crease and crevice, from the top of his head to the soles of his feet, even in his ears and in between each toe. When the older man was done, they switched positions, and the younger man mirrored the procedure to which he had been subjected. After both of them were clean and wearing their bath towels, Aidan left Josh in the bathroom to brush his teeth while he made a quick detour to pick up the massage cream and a gift bag from his room. Realizing he would also likely need a glass of water, he dropped off what he had already gathered on Josh's nightstand on his way down to the kitchen. Glistening wet and wearing only the thin towel, he passed by an appraising and appreciative Sally. He poured himself a glass of cold water from the pitcher in the refrigerator, and endured more good-natured leering from the ghost on the return trip back up the stairs.

Josh was leaning back against his desk, his arms crossed and skin still gleaming with moisture when Aidan joined him and closed the door. They laid their towels aside and settled together on the bed with Josh flat on his back. Aidan straddled him and started Josh off with a scalp massage. Then, incorporating the cream, he worked his way down the front side of Josh's body: face, chest, shoulders, arms, hands, stomach, abdomen, and then down the legs. The massage cream felt cool and smooth. It smelled minty. Aidan had Josh turn over, and starting at his feet, worked his way up.

It felt wonderful, and Josh was enjoying the massage up until the point he had to turn over. At that point he felt his mood inexplicably plummet. He suddenly felt depressed and irritable; he didn't want to be doing this anymore. The werewolf was at a complete loss to explain it, so he closed his eyes and tried to push the feeling away, hoping to recapture the enjoyment of his first massage in two years. It was an excellent massage; it didn't surprise Josh that Aidan would know what he was doing.

Aidan continued to work his way up, paying extra attention to the muscles in his lower back that he had strained at work. Getting a massage was supposed to be easy, but a painfully sad feeling kept coming up inside of him, tightening his chest and stinging his eyes. It was so aggravating! Here he was getting a nice massage and all it made him want to do is weep like a goddamned woman! _What the hell is wrong with you? Cowboy up Josh_, he screamed inside of his head. He pushed the feeling away again. He cleared his mind, but he shortly found himself thinking about the way Aidan would lay the back of his calves against his own when he was topping Aidan in the missionary position. That little touch… Josh's chest tightened further for a long moment, causing him to pause his breathing after an exhale. When the tightness eased, his inhale was a little too sharp.

Aidan's hands stopped. "Josh, are you alright?"

Dismissively shaking his head, Josh said, "Yeah, I'm fine, I… I think it's just been a very long day."

Aidan continued to look at him.

"I just… suddenly feel like crying…" Josh confessed. He lifted his hand and let it fall in a helpless gesture. "It's stupid!"

"Not so stupid," Aidan answered, running his flattened hands up and down Josh's back. "It's been two years now since you left your family. Two years is a long time not to be touched."

Josh stared hard at the fabric of his pillowcase and didn't answer.

The vampire's voice continued soft and slow. "During World War Two, there were so many orphans that the nurses could only keep up with the babies' physical needs. They got food and they were cleaned and they were given fresh diapers, but the babies were dying anyway. They weren't being held and talked to. They weren't being loved. That pain you're feeling right now, that's what killed them."

Josh had studied this phenomenon in one of his premed classes, Advanced Human Development. It was a little more complicated than Aidan was making it sound. The official cause of death of the infants was recorded as marasmus, which is malnutrition. Nowadays, it is called "Failure to Thrive". The effect of a human touch on a baby means a world of difference to the baby. With a loving touch, the baby's body produces more growth hormones, which basically optimizes every system in the baby's body. The baby is happier, calmer, and learns to connect and bond with other humans. The infants that died of malnutrition got the same amount of healthy food that was given to the babies that lived. But without adequate human touch their bodies languished, and their digestive systems just didn't absorb the nutrients from what they were fed. The babies that survived this treatment were maladjusted: plagued by lower I Qs, mental instability, and inability to form emotionally healthy connections with other people.

Truth be told, Josh was a little surprised he had not thought of this. He was getting reminders at work, after all. The children who are born heavily drug addicted and become wards of the state were sent to a nearby nursery facility. There, they ask for volunteers they call Holders, people to come in and just hold the babies, talking to them and caressing them, and giving them the stimulation they need to thrive. There are people who routinely volunteer as Holders, usually from the other demographic of Americans who suffer the problems of deteriorative health from touch deprivation: senior citizens. But with the holidays looming ahead, many of the regular volunteers were taking time away for what was most likely the only visit they would have with their families for the year. So the hospital was asking their employees early to commit to time out of their shopping and holiday preparations, stressing the beneficial effects of quietly holding a happy baby. Nurturing a baby will cause an adult's brain to produce oxytocin and serotonin, which leads to feeling happy and calm. And that was the big pitch: Wouldn't that be a nice way to take a break from holiday stress in the season of giving and brotherly love?

Josh hadn't seriously considered volunteering for a number of reasons. One, he had just lost a chance to have a baby of his own. The crushing disappointment of that loss would be kind of hard to forget in a roomful of infants. Two, he was a werewolf. As he had once observed to Aidan, the closer they get to people, the more people get hurt. Why subject little babies to that risk? Three, children who are born drug addicted are in the grip of the pain of withdrawal. Chances are that the babies will be crying continuously, which has the same stress factor on an adult as another adult standing in front of them screaming insults at the top of their lungs. Four... and he knew this was horrible… he was an unmarried man. He worried it would make him automatically subject to speculation that he was there to ingratiate himself to a woman to get laid, trolling for a woman there at the nursery with which to get laid, or getting his jollies off of the babies. And the final reason he hadn't considered volunteering was that he felt okay. He didn't recognize it as something he needed at this point. He had a few make out sessions with Nora, and he had no problem with Nora touching him. His problem had been that he was stricken to discover that he growled when he got sexually excited with a partner. He'd had sex with Nora, he'd had sex with Aidan, and he'd been okay. He was just fine… until now.

"As adults, we learn to suppress our emotional needs. We wall them off, so we won't feel the constant pain of those needs not being met." Aidan's hand continued to rub his back. "And once those needs start getting met again: every touch, every kiss chips away at that wall… wears it down. And the pain is still there underneath, waiting. I think your wall just broke."

The emotional pain that was blossoming and bubbling in his chest felt very familiar. It had been right there inside of him when he was working to discover what he was and find a cure. It was that yearning loneliness that had spurred him on to write that journal that his sister found and gave to his parents. All he wanted then was to find the cure, run home to hold his lady love and never let her go. Over time, reality had set in and he had given up all hope in going home again. The pain dulled as he meandered through his shiftless existence, alone and lonely. The urge to cry grew stronger. "Do vampires feel this?" He asked Aidan.

Aidan folded himself down to press their naked bodies together. He laid his cheek on Josh's shoulder blade. "Keenly," he admitted. "Imagine your only source of sustenance is the one thing in the world that really can love you back. The thirst for attention, love, sex, blood, it's all connected and twisted into one overwhelming craving." The vampire sighed. He's met people, living people, and told himself all he wanted was a casual friendship. When they start to become friends, he wants to get closer. When he gets closer, he wants their blood. Vampires by nature were ravenous and selfish. The self-delusion, the wheeling and dealing of addiction, the manipulation he would swear he wasn't doing on purpose with intent, it was all part and parcel of what he was now. It was a slippery slope, and he always had to be careful, had to set and keep limits on himself with people. With other vampires, he could slip. Living with humans would be a constant temptation. But a steady diet of attention and regard from a werewolf and ghost helped immensely with those longings. They gave him a safe place to come back to: a home. "It sucks."

Josh tried to laugh off his tears. "This is so un-macho!" He complained, frustrated at not being able to get a hold of himself.

"No, it's normal. It's human." Aidan told him. The nurse lifted his head, and whispered in to the orderly's ear, "And it's alright, you're among friends." He kissed Josh on the cheek, and held their heads together for a long moment of companionable silence.

Josh gave in, and let the tears spill down. But only because he knew that tears helped to flush the stress hormones out of the system, and the less that was in his body, the more control he would have over himself. His bout of tears was short. When he regained his composure, Aidan asked him, "Are you feeling up to continuing tonight? I should probably warn you, after the massage, you're supposed to get a tongue bath."

"What?" Josh asked, his voice high. "My WHOLE body?"

"Yeah… I've already got you washed and slathered in edible massage cream," Aidan pointed out reasonably.

Josh shot Aidan an incredulous look, then looked at his arm for a moment before licking it. His skin felt slippery against his tongue and tasted like mint.

"Why'd you bother with flavored cream when you can't taste it?"

"Because it's still better for me than ingesting a bunch of oil that's not meant to be eaten." Aidan pointed out. "So whaddaya say? You up for it?"

"Am I supposed to give you one?"

The vampire shook his head.

The werewolf sighed. Somehow, the shower hadn't been enough to tip him off that tonight's test was grooming behaviors. If he said no, it would just be looming ahead of him, and Aidan would have to do this all over again. After his little cry, he was feeling better. "Yeah, let's do it."

"Great," the nurse said encouragingly. "I'm going to finish your massage first, then start your tongue bath, okay?"

Josh turned his pillow over, wet side down, settled his head and nodded.

Aidan's hands resumed their work on his lower back, magically rubbing away all the soreness. When the massage reached the top of his neck, Aidan's fingers ran through his hair, smoothing it.

"Okay, are you ready? Aidan asked

"Uh-huh." Josh nodded. "Do you want me to turn over?"

"No, you're right where I need you to be." Aidan told him gently. "Now, there is an old belief that werewolves get tougher as they age, that the process of turning back and forth makes their skin and bones heal back together stronger. As I do this, I want you to monitor not only how you're reacting on an emotional level, since grooming pack members is an instinctual behavior, but see if your body's interpretation of touch has changed. Is your skin more reactive or less reactive to touch? Think of any places on your body that were particularly sensitive or ticklish before you were turned. Are they still the same? Or the sensitive places on your body in different spots now, and are there more of them or less? Or are there none at all?"

"You're really gonna do this?" Josh asked, curious.

"Yes," Aidan replied, patiently.

"Why?" The werewolf queried.

"I want to give you the opportunity to have the experience so you can learn from it. Fear of the unknown has kept you from so much, Josh. And if you are ready to change that, I want to help."

Aidan crawled down to the floor, and knelt at the end of the bed. "Don't kick me!" He warned Josh in a serious voice. He started with Josh's toes.

The light, slick touch of Aidan's tongue on the soles of his feet was very ticklish. Josh squished his eyes shut and clutched at the sheets with his hands to fight against the urge to squirm away. It would be really embarrassing to give Aidan a black eye or split lip when he was going to such trouble.

Aidan would work his way up a few inches, then cover the same area on the other leg. Every few minutes, he would stop and take a drink of water. Or, more accurately, pour enough water in his mouth to wet his tongue. It helped.

When Aidan had worked his way up to Josh's calves, the texture of the touch was much easier to tolerate. It didn't tickle as much there. He tried to do as he was told, and monitor where the ticklish spots were, but once again he found his emotional reactions were overshadowing his attention to the physical. Josh wanted to escape. He wanted to jump up and stammer out a suggestion they play a game of Parcheesi. It wasn't the wolf, and it wasn't because what Aidan was doing felt bad or that Josh believed that there was nothing to learn from this exercise. It was because Josh could not remember the last time that someone had done something for him that was so selfless and personal. It was his way to worm out of such situations. He didn't really know how to accept a generous and thoughtful gift when he had no idea how to square it, or when he knew he was incapable to repay it in kind. There was nothing he could do but fight against that urge to extricate himself and accept the gift his friend was giving to him. Defense mechanisms, like survival strategies, could outlive their usefulness.

Josh set aside his feelings of objection, and resolved to complete the exercise. There were places on his body that were still ticklish, like his inner thighs, that spot on his upper thighs just under the buttocks, and the nape of his neck. As Aidan was working his way across Josh's buttocks, Josh was a little surprised Aidan didn't tease him by rimming him a little more than necessary, but the entire human body was a lot of ground to cover; skin is the largest organ of the human body. Not wanting to linger when you are only a quarter of the way done is understandable.

With Josh on his back, Aidan began again at the toes, and worked his way up. There were not as many ticklish spots on the front. When Josh's penis started to react to being licked, Aidan looked up at him and deadpanned, "If your whole body did this, I would never get done!" Josh gave a little laugh and told Aidan that he could stop, but Aidan refused the offer, and persevered. Getting his armpits licked was a new experience for Josh. As it turns out, he was ticklish there, too. When the nurse worked his way around Josh's neck, he paused with his mouth closed over Josh's carotid artery. A gentle sigh escaped the vampire as he tapped out the rhythm of the werewolf's steady heartbeat with the index finger of the hand lying on the younger man's chest. Aidan moved on quickly to Josh's ear, and then licked across the jaw line to the other ear. Aidan was just as thorough with Josh's face as he had been with the rest of his body. After licking his way up the chin, cheeks, nose, forehead, and temples, Aidan took a couple of big swigs of water, swishing it around before swallowing it.

Aidan's tongue licked at the delicate skin of the eyelids, licking from the inside corners outward. When they were both done, Aidan's whisper was barely audible. "Open your eyes." When Josh realized Aidan intended to lick his eyeballs, he tensed up. "It's not gonna hurt," Aidan chided, his voice still in a whisper. "Watch," the older man reassured. Josh had gone too far in to this to fight it now. Josh braced himself slightly by lightly grasping Aidan's side with his hand. The werewolf was a bit trepidatious, but willing to trust enough to try. It wasn't painful at all, just soft and wet and... Dark. After finishing with both of Josh's eyes, Aidan came back down to lick across Josh's lips, and then the inside of Josh's mouth. He swirled his tongue around Josh's, ending the tongue bath in a kiss.

Aidan ran his fingers through the werewolf's hair, ruffling it. He hoped that was good enough to consider the scalp area "covered". Attempting to lick the scalp through the hair would result in detaching a number of follicles, and he didn't savor the idea of all that hair collecting in his throat. He liked Josh, but he drew the line at coughing up hairballs.

"So what did you think?" The nurse queried.

"It was nice, thank you," the orderly answered.

"Anything wolfy?" Aidan wondered.

"No," Josh said lightly, "just me."

Aidan took another swig of water, returning the glass to the nightstand, which drew Josh's attention to the forgotten gift bag. "What's in the bag?

In a somewhat hesitant manner Aidan answered, "It's… a graduation gift."

A small smile touched the werewolf's lips as his brows knit slightly, and his head quirked in a silent encouragement to continue.

"I've now done everything I could think of that could possibly be a challenge to you... romantically. But... I need you to be... open... for a moment."

Josh looked suspiciously at the suddenly nervous vampire. "What is it?" He asked again.

Sitting off to the side, Aidan picked up the bag, and pulled out a thick band of leather.

"A collar." Josh said flatly.

"Not just a collar," Aidan countered, setting the bag aside on the floor. "Watch!" The collar had a thick layer of white padding on the back of the inside. When Aidan flexed the collar inside out, the padding stretched and retracted to reveal a broken oval of dully pointed metal studs that would press in the back of the wearer's neck.

Josh stared at it for a moment before he made the connection; A broken oval... like teeth. A dawning understanding replaced the skeptical irritation on Josh's face, telling Aidan that this little gift would not turn in to a huge fight between them.

"Now, remember, we don't know if you reacted the way you did to my biting the back of your neck because it was me, or because that is the way you would react anyway. And we don't know if all werewolves will react that way. But if other wolves do, and it can be used against you, now you have a way to explore and acclimate yourself to that sensation on your own." Aidan wiggled the collar in his fingers. "It's exposure therapy!"

The idea on how to help Josh had come to him while he had been spending time with Sally. She had been watching an infomercial for a type of dog collar called a prong collar. It claimed the barbs protruding through the dog's fur to press against its skin simulated a mother's bite, and the dog would be more behaved and responsive. He searched the internet, but all the different types of prong collars were designed specifically for dogs, whose tougher skin protected them from the barbs that were too sharp to work for Josh.

"And you just… happened to find one while out shopping?" Josh didn't think that seemed plausible.

"No," Aidan replied, "I had it made at a local specialty shop."

A couple of decades ago, Aidan had dabbled in a submissive/dominant/bondage lifestyle. He was hoping it would be exactly what he needed to help him break free of his family, and his body's cravings for blood. But what promised to be a transcendentally cathartic escape turned out to be a quick trip back to square one: Being submissive felt too much like serving Bishop and being dominant felt too much like toying with his victims. The disappointing lack of efficacy had made him grow weary of the concept rather quickly, but he left the lifestyle with a better knowledge of restraints and their psychological effect.

Aidan chuckled at the unease that crossed Josh's face. "It's not like I told her exactly what it was meant for and for whom. They don't ask those kinds of questions. I had it made to your shirt collar size, but it is adjustable, so I need you to sit up so I can fit it for you."

Josh sat up, and scooted up close to Aidan on the bed.

First, Aidan explained how the collar worked. There were two strips of metal attached to the left side that curled back at the end. The right side had two D-hooks attached to a hinged swing arm. So you pull the swing arm out to fit the D-hooks on to the curved metal strips, swing the arm back to sit flush with the leather, and then it tightens enough to press the studs into the back of the neck. Near the end of the swing arm was a spot where it curved out for a finger hold that would be easy to find if Josh started to panic.

The werewolf nodded to show he understood the design, and brought his head up so Aidan could fit the collar on him. He closed his eyes, taking deep measured breaths. The collar made him nervous but it was supposed to. That was the point. Gently, the collar came around his neck. The D-Hooks ended in long screws that attached to the swing arm, so Aidan turned the hooks to modify the collar size. It was supposed to start out snug, but just loose enough so the pointed metal studs were retracted in the padding.

When Aidan felt the collar was properly set, he guided Josh's hand to the extended swing arm. Josh took a deep breath, held it, and pushed the swing arm back to click down against the leather. The cool studs pressed in to him and clasped his neck securely. He kept his fingers on the swing arm. He wasn't planning on wearing the collar for long; At least not tonight.

The studs were dull, this collar wasn't designed to pierce skin, and the break in the oval was wide enough to protect the sensitive spinal cord. Josh felt that odd squirmy feeling of something else cringing inside of him. He exhaled, and then took a couple of breaths to make sure that the collar wouldn't impede his ability to breathe. He pulled lightly on the swing arm, and it sprang back easily, releasing the spongy padding to fluff up immediately and hold the studs away from his skin again. Eyes still closed, his fingers found the hooks, pulling the leather tighter for a second while he felt his way through unhooking the collar and he was free.

He opened his eyes and took a deep breath as he pulled it off of him. The real test would be using the collar without Aidan there with him and on a regular basis if that feeling persisted.

"If anyone finds it, you can tell them you had a kinky ex-girlfriend," Aidan quipped, breaking the tension in his friend with a joke.

Josh laughed, and looked in to Aidan's eyes. "Thank you," he said sincerely, sliding his hands around the naked man for a warm hug.

When the hug ended, Aidan got up from the bed to click off the lights. He walked back around to the far side of the bed, and settled himself under the covers. Josh pulled the covers over him as well, snuggling back against Aidan and wrapping Aidan's left arm under and around him to use Aidan's shoulder as a pillow.

"How was your day?" Josh asked, realizing he hadn't gotten an update on the Vampire Situation.

"Really long," Aidan mumbled, "my tongue is exhausted!"

Josh laughed, dropping a kiss on Aidan's bicep. Aidan's hand lightly stroked his stomach as Aidan kissed him on the top of his head.

"Night, Josh," Aidan whispered, his breath tickling Josh's hair.

"Goodnight, Aidan," Josh responded. He left his eyes open for a few moments longer, assimilating what he had experienced over the course of the night. A small smile touched his lips when he realized that this was the most normal he had felt in a very long time.


	14. RoRChapter13

"Luciano Pavoratti on a treadmill,  
Not going nowhere, slim chance we will!  
Less hip than Bo Jackson, bored like wood…  
Dick around like Frankie Goes To Hollywood!"  
- Mope, Hooray For Boobies. The Bloodhound Gang

The Reciprocity of Ratiocination.

Chapter 13: An Experimental Morning.

There's a trick to watching people sleep. You couldn't openly stare at them. They would sense it and wake. You had to slide your eyes over their features, look away, and then back over at them to caress their face with your eyes. The trick was to keep your eyes moving, and not focus intently on one thing.

Josh looked at Aidan asleep beside him. He looked so young. Josh tried to imagine what the man next to him must have been like when he was human. If Josh were to go back in time, back to the week before Aidan left home for the war, and met him then, would he recognize that man as the friend he knew? Aidan human, with a wife and child. What had his relationship with his wife and son been like? Aidan was good at dealing with interpersonal situations when they came up, the better to put unpleasantness in the past, but was that a trait he had acquired over the years, or was he always that way? Was Aidan happy when he was alive? Did he take on other people's burdens, the way he does now? Times were different then, was he a virgin when he married? What had he considered his biggest sin before he was turned? What had been his most self-indulgent human vice?

Josh had never stopped to consider how much the two of them had in common, comparatively. Both of them had their humanity taken from them in early adulthood. In both cases, it took them from the woman they loved. Josh was not privy to the fate of Aidan's wife and son; it was still painful for Aidan to talk about even now. But Josh figured it was a safe bet that Aidan's turning had interrupted their life's plans together. Both of them were turned by a man they didn't know, but whom wanted them for himself afterwards. Both of them had proposed marriage to a woman, both of them had "slipped one past the goalie", but neither had that woman or child to show for it now.

That last thought made Josh's stomach tip a numbingly cold quarter turn to the right. He turned his face away from his slumbering bed mate, and took a steadying breath. His eyes and nose stung. Normality seemed so much closer when it was growing on its own in Nora's womb. It was Josh's own fault; he had allowed a little part of himself to hope, to want what he already accepted the wolf had taken from him. The wolf had yet another triumph over Josh, it had run off into the night to eat his young, and taunt him with teeth dripping with blood. Josh had no recourse but to count another loss, another casualty as he and Nora were left to pick up the pieces.

Why couldn't anything be simple anymore?

His mind drifted back to a time when things were simple, when the brunette sleeping naked beside him had a much curvier figure and a lot less body hair. Josh would wake up early sometimes. Sure, there was a lot of pressure on him, and so much for them both to do, but they had plans. They had each other. He had loved Julia so much. She was smart and focused. He felt so proud of her, so lucky that she was his. He would let his eyes pass over her form and face as she slept, wanting her. When Josh figured there was a good enough balance between sleep and the amount of time before obligations required them to be elsewhere, he would move very close to her, and wet his fingertips. He would get them wet enough to slip past her outer labia and glide in a small circle gently over her clitoris, nice and slow. Josh would keep this up until her breathing deepened, and Julia spread her legs wider for him in invitation. Josh would shift closer, moving down to suckle at her breasts while he used his thumb on her clit, freeing his index and middle finger to drift down to trace around her inner labia, then dip in to tease at the entrance of her vagina. He loved that he could get her that wet with just his fingers. When Josh had her nice and warmed up, he would throw the covers up over his head, settling comfortably between her legs and concentrating on working her little knot of nerves with his lips and tongue. He would wait until Julia started moaning softly, then he would get a gasp out of her by shifting down momentarily to suck and lick at her vagina, only to move his mouth back up to work her clit as he slipped a couple of fingers inside of her, curling his fingertips up around her pubic bone to rub at that little patch of extra-sensitive skin where the texture was different. Josh remembered how much Julia's moans and whimpers would turn him on. His cock felt so hard and heavy pressed against the sheets while he waited for just the right moment, waited for her to get close, to squirm, before mounting her. The pace was quick but gentle, his thumb on her clit still rubbing little circles while the full length of his shaft was massaging her deeply. She would be so worked up and hot, crying out softly as he latched on to her nipples again, sucking each one hard before pressing it against his top teeth with his tongue. With sweet little moans she would climax, the muscles of her vaginal walls constricting around him, wet and hot and so fucking tight. It pushed him over the edge every time, and finally removing his hand, he would press into her as far as he could go, shooting in to her as deeply as he could. Claiming her. She had said yes and she was his, forever. Josh had thought they had all their lives to do this, wake up like that. It was his favorite way to start the day. Better than breakfast.

He could never see Julia again. That was what Ray had stolen away from him. After Josh's first change, it had been as if the danger he was to her was palpable when he had looked at her, looked at anyone in his family. He had become the Damocles sword hanging over their heads. He was damaged, infected. He had become only a danger to those he loved. What was inside of him could only hurt them now. He had to go. He had to give them up to save them.

A soft sigh escaped Josh as his eyes slid up and over his roommate, then down and away again. All that had come before had brought him here, to this strange place. Having another man as a lover was not something Josh had ever thought would be a part of his life, not even a limited portion of it, but it honestly wasn't bad. It wasn't as different as he would have supposed it would be, yeah, different anatomy, but sex was sex. It was... (He snuck another peek at Aidan, and smiled) ... nice!

As far as lovers go, Josh couldn't ask for one more experienced and patient. He loved that Aidan called him by name when they were in bed. It was never sweetie, honey, baby, or darlin' … just Josh. It was a reminder that out of the hundreds, perhaps thousands of lovers Aidan had enjoyed in his lifetime, he knew exactly who he was with, he appreciated that it was Josh and none other. Or, at least, it made Josh feel appreciated. Perhaps flawlessly remembering the other body's name during sex was a knack Aidan picked up after years of practice with near strangers. Either way, when the two of them were in the thick of it, it was a turn on for Josh to hear his own name grunted in his ear in that vampire-husky baritone. Conversely, Josh avoided saying Aidan's name at all costs when they were in bed. It's not like he didn't get the urge to say it, he did near constantly; or that Aidan didn't deserve such specific accolades. It was that Josh was wary of the later complications that could arise from habituating himself to gasping out another man's name in bed. Josh didn't want the women he would sleep with in the future to feel inadequate, rejected, or haunted by the comparison. Avoiding Aidan's name in bed usually lead Josh to spew out an inordinate amount of cursing. Luckily, Aidan was a gentleman, and didn't seem at all to mind.

Night before last, Josh had been on his elbows and knees, with Aidan on top of him and inside of him. Aidan's thrusting was hitting the perfect momentum that made the bedsprings squeak in that rhythm that speaks to a person's basest, innermost sexual instincts. Sex at the most visceral level. Josh had been entirely unprepared for the degree of arousal that hit him at that sound, along with the feel of Aidan's broad, masculine chest against his back, the well-muscled bicep wrapped around his torso, and those large, rough hands on his body.

"Growl for me, Josh," Aidan had panted low in his left ear, and Josh didn't even think about it, his body responding to his lover's request effortlessly as he lost himself in the feel of being manhandled, lost himself in the idea that he was just a sexual plaything for the big bad vampire. Oh, the sound of that squeaking, and use me, use me, use me! Josh felt Aidan's teeth latch on to his earlobe, the sharp point of a fang pressing in to the tender flesh there, and Josh found himself rooting for Aidan to bite down, mark him, and leave a hole so he could wear a single goddamned diamond earring to show the world he was getting fucked but good.

The cadence of Aidan's thrusting changed as he climaxed inside of Josh, holding himself deep inside for a two count and thrusting on three. When Aidan's climax was completed but before he came down from his orgasmic high, he pulled out of Josh, flipped the werewolf on to his back, and sucked the entire length of Josh's penis into his mouth, encouraging the younger man to thrust. It hadn't taken long for Josh to be overtaken by his orgasm, hips arching up and off of the bed with both hands bracketing Aidan's head and swearing in between the mewling and growling. His body remained stiff for a moment, then fell bonelessly to the bed. Josh's eyes were closed as his breathing rate returned to a more normal rhythm, basking in afterglow.

Josh felt Aidan bending his arms over Josh's legs, resettling. After a moment, Josh felt a rapid tapping on his thigh, the feel of Aidan's fingertips falling twice in a sequential cascade against his skin in order from pinky to index finger. The werewolf cracked his eyes open to find the vampire looking directly in to his eyes with a clever look on his face and Josh's penis still gripped in his left hand. Without breaking eye contact, Aidan angled his head forward a little, and expelled Josh's semen from his mouth by gently spitting it back over Josh's cock, letting it tickle as the fluid ran down the shaft.

This struck Josh as outrageously funny. He burst in to raucous laughter. "I've only seen that in pornos," the werewolf exclaimed. The vampire joined Josh in laughter, climbing up to kiss him. When the older man tried to deepen the kiss, Josh squirmed away. "Oh, dude, don't! You've got cum in your mouth!"

"Hey!" Aidan had said, still laughing. "If your woman mans up enough to suck you off all the way, the one thing that will piss her off is if YOU'RE a big sissy about it. Now pucker up, Buttercup!" With that, before Josh could feed him some cockamamie line about his sensitive palate, Aidan dove for his mouth again for a deep and thorough kiss. As Josh responded to the ardor of Aidan's tongue, he registered a protest with a petulant but stingless slap to Aidan's shoulder.

Yesterday, at work, as Josh was cleaning the floor, he was mentally reviewing how lacking in inhibition he had been during his last time with Aidan, assessing the degree to which Aidan could turn him on… Enough to make Josh wonder if he really did have latent gay tendencies. He simply couldn't quantify the horror at the thought of how much more awkward he would act around other men if he considered them makeable and was angling to hook up with them. He imagined Aidan naked, stretched out on their new red velvet couch. Did he find the image seductive? Not really, he decided. He tried to keep interactions with Aidan as normal and platonic as possible for as long as possible just so going back later wouldn't be too weird. But as soon as they were in each other's personal space, it was like magnetism. THAT'S when he wanted to pull his roommate to him, and… how did Nora put it? "Move on to the good stuff: the kissing and the groping." At that moment, Travis Reid walked past him, and nope, Josh didn't have the slightest urge to turn and check out Dr. Reid's ass. When Josh thought of how enticing Nora's breasts had looked when she came to his house for their date, he couldn't suppress the small yet very relieved smile that jumped to his lips. He knew he was being stupid. He had resolved within himself from the outset that he wouldn't ask himself these questions... not to hide any hidden homosexual yearnings from himself, but to remember that no matter what happened, it simply wasn't his issue! It wasn't an identity, it wasn't a lifestyle... it was a favor, and one he was only able to provide because Aidan had compelled him to accept the idea, plain and simple. Maybe he should have seen this coming, should have known that his liaisons with his friend would start to seem kind of kinky, this idea of going to bed with a man when men weren't his preference. And even though his life as of late seemed like suspended reality, like he was taking a break from who he normally expects himself to be for a little stroll in the Bizzaro World, he was finally learning about that part of his new nature that he had been most reluctant to explore. Josh chided himself: he should just enjoy it! He was practicing with Aidan so he could be with women later without fearing his wolf could hurt them.

Josh had never had a buddy with benefits before. It was strange to be getting on sexually without going out on movie dates and to out-of-the-way restaurants or getting to know each other on long walks and talking on the phone. It was just like usual, but with an extra trip upstairs for adult naked fun time. Another completely new experience was sex without any perfumed matching bra and underwear sets. No fragile, lacy nightgowns. No long hair brushing his cheek as they kiss. But come to think of it, it could have been a lot weirder. Aidan could have come to him all overly masculine and told him, "alright, I'll take you up on your offer, but just so it isn't gay: no eye contact and I'm only gonna touch you with my dick. Cool?" A small smile touched Josh's lips at the silly thought. Josh liked that sex with Aidan was a very immersive, tactile experience. He was sure the vampire probably had every type of sex out there, and Josh would bet money that the way they were with each other was simply the way Aidan usually preferred sex. Just enough foreplay to get comfortable, with a lot of variety. It wasn't hearts and flowers, but Josh was pretty happy with what it was. And what was it? Were he and Aidan different, now that they were sleeping together? Josh thought about that. He and Aidan were definitely on a more intimate level with one another. Their walls were dropped a little more than usual; their interactions outside of the bedroom were a little more relaxed and casual. It wasn't wide open sharing and caring. They were good friends operating under a gentleman's agreement, and that came with its own set of guidelines and boundaries.

Before his own wanton behavior caused Josh to question how well he knew himself, he had been likely in idle moments throughout his day to wonder if today would be the day that his programming would collapse. If that day was the day he would go home, looking forward to what a night with Aidan may hold in store, and when he met up face to face with his roommate and provisional bed buddy, that old platonic distance would be all he felt for the older man. How on earth could Josh live up to the terms of the agreement like that? Of course… that's what he wanted it to go back to when their time limit was up, but oh, please, not yet! He just needed the programming to hold as well as it was now. Deep down, truth be told, he didn't want to give this up any earlier than he had to, things were going so well! But he would get home and see Aidan, and he would feel a little jump of recognition deep in his chest: A reassurance to Josh that his wolf was happy to be reunited with their friend and it was open to getting reacquainted. With all his heart, Josh hoped that when this was all over, his wolf would be okay with a more distant yet companionable relationship with the vampire. Otherwise, his little Snoopy would be in the doghouse all alone stroking his own Woodstock; too bad, so sad for him. Josh DID want his life to go completely back to normal after all this. (As normal as his life could be as a werewolf, obviously!) Looking back at how eager the wolf had been to push Josh to act when presented with the opportunity to mate with Nora in the break room, when he had no indication that the wolf had been independently interested in the blonde, Josh supposed he shouldn't worry so much about that, either. His time would be much better spent trying to figure out how he can maneuver someone into betting a good sum of money that he and Aidan would be too chicken to French kiss each other at the New Year's Eve party.

Speaking of women, Josh's thoughts turned towards his other roommate, Sally. Here, Josh felt a little guilty. He and Aidan are all she has, and they may as well have taped a sign that read No Girls Allowed on his bedroom door. He felt bad about shutting her out, but right now there wasn't much to be done about that. Soon enough, he and Aidan's time limit would be up, and they would all go back to their normal routines. He was making an effort to spend time with Sally when Aidan wasn't there, and he knew that Aidan was making it a point to talk to her when it was just the two of them before Aidan came up to his room. But still, Josh did feel guilty. And when you felt guilty over a woman, gifts were in order!

Like he and Aidan, Sally was a reader. She loved books and magazines. So, he wanted to get her an e-reader; one that she could use to get local news, read books, as well as play games, surf the web, and maybe stream videos. Something that was just hers. Games as simple as Angry Birds could help her with her astral motor skills, help her practice affecting a measured pressure and direction. Josh frowned. He couldn't remember seeing Sally ever use a touchpad. He didn't know if she could. He would need to find an e-reader with an optional stylus in case it turned out that touch pads aren't compatible with the body deprived. Sally couldn't hold objects indefinitely, though, so it would also need buttons to navigate menus and turn pages so she wouldn't have to hold the stylus all the time. Maybe he could find one that had a bright orange skin, orange like her old couch had been. Josh smiled as the idea struck him to preload the e-reader with Shirley MacLean books as a joke. Hey, there had to be at least one person out there who knew the rules of the real supernatural world who wrote about how to get another door, right? The other books would be up to her to find! It was up to HIM to find her a nice little gismo, something that really showed her that he had thought of everything. Speaking of thinking of everything, Josh reminded himself to buy Sally's gift locally, and get the point of purchase product protection plan; the extended warranty, NOT parts and labor. If Sally popped this thing's CPU when she tried to touch the screen, Josh wanted to be sure he could just exchange it for a new one, no charge and no questions asked. He should also check to see which of his credit cards had the best automatic product protection coverage, because ghosts and electrical devices sometimes clashed. If the exchanges turned out to be too taxing on the store's patience, his card would cover him.

He had already found a gift to thank Aidan for the belated werewolf initiation. It was a high end coffee gourmet's dream: an induction heat coffee cup set. The cups were made out of milled aluminum, and covered with a layer of space program quality heat-resistant silicone. The bottom was designed so that the liquid heated by the induction ring would rise to the top in a central column, meaning the fluid inside was constantly being churned and mixed so there was consistent heat throughout. The customer could choose the optimal temperature they preferred: from cool-enough-to-chug-it to I-prefer-to-taste-the-steam, and the beverage could be kept at that temperature indefinitely. Body temperature blood with no more microwave cold spots or cooked edges in less than two minutes! Shatter proof with uniquely designed dishwasher-safe no-spill lids, Aidan could prep the cups and keep them in the fridge, and Sally could set them on the induction pad in the morning without having to worry about breaking them. They. Were. Perfect!

Looking over at his clock and the light brightening behind his bamboo curtain, Josh quietly retrieved some mints he had sitting out on the nightstand. Struggling not to jiggle the bed too much, he slipped underneath the sheet, moving down the bed. He settled about halfway down. There was enough light coming through the sheet that he could see well enough. Aidan was sleeping on his side, turned towards him. Aidan's penis was also asleep; resting on the leg Aidan had bent underneath him. In its recumbent state, the foreskin covered the glands by about three-quarters. The skin looked so soft. Josh considered it as he popped the breath refreshments in to his mouth and pulverized the paste mints with his teeth to strengthen the minty tingle. He brushed his mouth across the foreskin, testing the elasticity of the skin with his lips. He felt Aidan's body give a very slight jump.

Sounding sleepy and amused, his roommate's voice drifted down to him through the sheet. "What are you doing?"

Pulling the sheet down far enough to free his head, Josh rested his head in his hand and gave the nurse a one shoulder shrug. "I'm Jewish. It's interesting."

Aidan gave a little laugh at that.

"I thought that if you served in the U. S. military you had to be circumcised?"

Aidan sighed deeply and shook his head. "No, you don't have to be. There were doctors who forced it on soldiers to practice the procedure during World War Two, but that didn't happen in the Revolutionary War. I was lucky enough to be born before the gentiles started circumcising their boys for fear that they would masturbate themselves into insanity."

"Is it better?" Josh asked. "Is it more sensitive?"

The vampire shrugged. "I don't know. It's the way I've always known it to be. I've got no complaints."

"Do girls think it's weird?"

Aidan thought a moment, a facial shrug turning in to a smile. "I've gotten no complaints."

"You couldn't get circumcised now even if you wanted to, could you?" Josh asked, with a little wonder in voice.

"Nope," Aidan replied lightly. "It'd just grow back!"

Josh pulled the sheet back over his head, alone with Aidan's naked lower half again. He poked his tongue out, tracing the tip of his tongue around the entire head where it met the foreskin, like a fat little rosebud. He gathered the entire penis in to his mouth, enjoying it's more manageable size and squishy texture. He didn't enjoy it for long, as he massaged it with his tongue it was growing larger, stiffening and pushing against his mouth and throat for more room to stretch out. When he had it fully hard, he pulled off to admire his handiwork. Looking at it now, you wouldn't know that Aidan was uncircumcised. It was glistening with his saliva in the low light; the head was fully exposed, and eager. The werewolf blew on it lightly, hoping that the mints were giving his roommate at least a little extra tingle. He could feel himself start to get aroused with anticipation.

Tossing the sheet off of them both this time, Josh told Aidan, "I wanna try something!"

With his eyebrows raised, Aidan replied with a slow "Okay." Then, "What do you want me to do?"

"Just stay there... Oh, no wait, let me get a pillow," Josh grabbed his own pillow, looked at it, then muttered, "and maybe a towel..." He reached down to a small pile of towels he was keeping by the bed for just such occasions. No need to soil his mattress pad and pillows with nasty protein stains when he could simply use towels! He laid a partially folded towel on top of the pillow and slid it behind Aidan and had the older man lay back on it, so it held his hips canted up in a diagonal fashion. From the nightstand he took the older man's small bottle of lubricant. Josh poured it out on his fingers, sliding the liquid around to considerately warm it for his partner before applying it first to Aidan's shaft, and then his own.

The werewolf looked at his friend appraisingly, calculated the best way to go about his plan. Sideways, he decided, sideways would probably be the easiest. Not wanting to get the lubricant all over the bed, he took another towel to clean off his hand. He leaned his body over his roommate's, self-consciously muttering, "I just wanna see if this works." He took the vampire's cock, pointed it to slide in-between his own closed legs while at the same time, pointing his own cock to slide between Aidan's closed legs. He moved his hips in a slow experimental thrust, then repositioned his upper body about forty-five degrees closer to Aidan's from the ninety degree angle he had originally adopted to better work with the natural upward curvature of their erections.

He squeezed his own legs together and pressed one hand down on Aidan's top leg to make it tighter for him. The lubricant was doing its job; he didn't feel any resistance around either of them. In fact it felt wonderful. The feel of Aidan's skin sliding around him, feeling it part anew for him with each thrust was an amazing sensation. And then there was the new feeling of Aidan's cock sliding back and forth between his own legs, feeling so big and strong. Both of them were starting to pant and moan a little. As Aidan would say, he was "getting no complaints." As good as it was, so far he had been balancing himself over Aidan with one hand, and his wrist was beginning to protest. Gathering up the covers underneath him to fashion himself a sort of pillow, he lay down on it and took the rest of his weight on his elbows, getting his knees underneath him more so he had the balance and room to resume thrusting. The next thrust, both of them moaned.

"This working okay for you?" Josh asked.

The answer came as a large hand came down to loudly smack his ass, and stayed for an appreciative squeeze. "Hell yes!" was Aidan's breathy reply.

Josh began to growl as Aidan's other hand threaded through his hair, making his scalp tingle, then dipped down to caress his back in broad strokes as the first hand stayed glued on his bottom, squeezing and enjoying Josh's ass in motion. After a couple more minutes and swats to the bottom, and Josh gave Aidan a high pitched warning, "fuck, I'm close!"

Aidan's eyes cracked open, twin pools of onyx. "Just keep going," Aidan all but growled back.

With that, Josh let himself tumble, thrusting through his orgasm, painting the inside of Aidan's thighs with smears of semen, burying his face in the blankets and swearing. He felt Aidan's nails dig in to his skin.

"Oh, fuck, Josh!" Between his legs, Josh could feel Aidan's cock pulsing, could feel the splash of semen on the back of his thighs. He stopped moving, holding his position. He moved to get up, but found his penis was way too sensitive. Understanding that Aidan may be in the same state, Josh parted his legs, gently moved Aidan's penis around to rest against Aidan, then lifted Aidan's top leg to manually remove himself from the vampire. He used the towel that he had used earlier to clean the lubricant off his hand to wipe off Aidan's ejaculate from his thighs, testicles and bottom, and then wiped his own ejaculate from his genitals. It still felt wet, but it wasn't goopy, so he was as clean as he could get with a dry towel.

Aidan was next. Sliding the pillow out from underneath the towel, Josh used the bottom edge of the towel to clear his own semen from his roommate. He folded the towels together, the goopy parts to the inside, and set them down on the floor to go in to the wash before he left for work. Josh lay back down, pulling the sheet up over them as he snuggled down in to the bed, basking in the afterglow. There was something kinda nice about being with a partner of a gender whose sexual response cycle was not an average of twenty minutes longer than your own.

Aidan smiled at the smirk on Josh's face.

"Well, I guess THAT works!" Josh gloated.

"A little hard on the balls." Aidan remarked.

Josh squinted his eyes, considering. "A little!" He conceded.

They both laughed.

Aidan wrapped the fingers of his hand around the side Josh's neck, stroking Josh's cheek with his thumb. He pressed a single dry kiss to Josh's lips. "Thanks for the wakeup call," he murmured.

Josh smiled and winked back at him. "No problem. But I do have to get going. I've got an early shift today."

The hand on his neck gave a little squeeze then slid away. "I'll stay here for a few minutes, and then I'll meet you downstairs for breakfast."

Josh gave a nod and rolled out of bed. Donning his robe, Josh left the bedroom, quietly shutting the door behind him.

Aidan closed his eyes and let his head sink in to the pillow. He would have to go to his own room to get his clothes, just a t-shirt and jeans that he could wear to grab a mug of blood before coming back up here for a long shower. As much as he was trying to keep it under control, Josh's scent was getting stronger on his skin. He would try to dismiss it when he was with the other vampires, saying that either the smell of his roommate was getting stronger, or the guy was borrowing his clothes without telling him. Their little arrangement was quickly coming to its termination date, and then Josh's wolf scent would not be a problem anymore. Aidan just couldn't give the vampires any reason to distrust him. Screwing a wolf on the down low was a forgivable taboo, but showing loyalty to one over all other vampires was not.

Any affair with a mortal was fleeting; something to be celebrated and enjoyed while in the experience. Getting to know this side of Josh had been an unexpected gift, a memory he would treasure for years, decades, possibly centuries. When engrossed working on his laptop, he would purse his lips to find a coating of lip balm had transferred to his lips from his friend's while they were kissing. During meetings, he would look forward to coming home, speculating what the two of them would do together that night. He wondered if a hundred years from now, he would get a semi at an unexpected whiff of werewolf. But Aidan wasn't greedy. He and Josh had their time, and when that time was up, it would be time for them to move on. Oh, who was he kidding? He was a vampire. His nature was to latch on and glut himself until the person was dead and gone from the world forever. But over time Aidan had taught himself to subsist on a steady diet of a smaller amount of both attention and food, instead of a satisfying saturation, the cold disappointment of withdrawal, and starting the miserable hunt all over again. But he did have his conscience, he cared about Josh as a person, and there were plenty of other people out there waiting to be discovered. He would let Josh go when the time came.

Except for that first time in the house when things had started up between them when they were already in Aidan's room, Aidan had tried to keep their liaisons confined to Josh's room. He knew Josh suspected it was only so all the cleaning duties would fall to the guy who liked to clean so much he did it for a living, but the real intent was to keep Josh's scent off of the vampire's bed. He was literally rolling in wolf's smell sleeping in here with Josh. He wouldn't mind it so much if he weren't working with vampires who were making up their minds about him during this time. The werewolf was using Aidan's brand of soap and aftershave, but all fragrances smell different on different people, and that wasn't covering the scent as much as Aidan hoped. As long as the other vampires don't jump to the conclusion that Aidan is some sort of double agent for werewolves and kill him, they should both be okay.

With a bolstering deep breath, Aidan rolled out of the bed on his own side. He put on a robe just in case Sally popped in to say good morning and quickly made Josh's bed. The vampire folded the linens in to hospital corners to amuse the orderly, and then made his way back to his own room to dress for their routine family breakfast for three.


	15. RoRChapter14

So, Bambi's goin' on about how she can make all my fantasies come true.  
So I says, "Even this one I have where Jesus Christ  
is jackhammering Mickey Mouse in the doo-doo hole with a lawn dart  
as Garth Brooks gives birth to something resembling a  
cheddar cheese log with almonds on Santa Claus's tummy-tum?"  
- A Lap Dance Is So Much Better When the Stripper is Crying,  
Hooray for Boobies. The Bloodhound Gang.

The Reciprocity of Ratiocination.

Chapter 14: Wolf Play.

It was well into the dark hours when Aidan came home after a long day of tending to the newbies. He didn't have to replace everyone in town, since he strongly suspected that a good number of the old family was laying low, biding their time until the new regime took hold of the city, and they could step forward and pledge fealty to the new leaders.

Josh greeted him at the door with an enthusiastic kiss.

"Wait, wait, wait!" Aidan told him quickly, backing off and taking off his suit jacket. "Still trying to scent mark me, aren't you?" Aidan teased him lightly as he hung it on the hooks in the foyer. He pulled Josh back in to his arms, resuming the kiss. Undeterred by the interruption, Josh set upon him again, eager. "Oh," said Aidan, understanding. They were three days away from Josh turning, and this was about the time when Josh's senses started ramping up, becoming more sensitive. Josh was also more energetic, usually undergoing wild mood swings. Aidan often heard Josh masturbating in his room around this time of the month, the wildly elevated heartbeat leaving very little doubt what the werewolf was doing. Perhaps sex with a partner would be more cathartic for him. Aidan felt himself smile. He couldn't wait… this was going to be interesting.

Josh walked backwards kissing him and pulling him in to the house, breaking the kiss to push him up the stairs. They made it to the landing, when Josh pulled him around, pushed him up against the wall, and kissed him deeply. Aidan was enjoying Josh's excitement when a quiet voice drifted up from below him.

"Really guys? 'Cause I died there."

Aidan pushed his roommate off of him, vectoring him up the stairs ahead of him. "Sorry, Sally," he told her as he steered the younger man upward ahead of him. He indicated Josh with a what-are-ya-gonna-do expression on his face. "I'll talk to you later," he promised her, just as she disappeared from his sight when he reached the top of the stairs. They went in to Josh's room straight away, closing the door. Josh pulled him to the bed, meaning to dump Aidan on to his back, but again Aidan stopped him. The vampire undid his belt and kicked off his shoes, taking off his trousers and laying them over the desk chair. He stood there in his dress shirt, underwear, and socks. "Okay," he told his roommate, "NOW I'm all yours!"

"About time!" The werewolf groused, flinging the older man down to the bed. Josh then hopped on top of him, straddling him.

"Oh, did you want me to take a shower real fast?" Aidan offered. He usually took a quick shower when he got home, to be clean for their intimate activities.

Josh shook his head. For the first time, his assertive manner receded, and he looked a little self-conscious. "I want to explore you." He said with a little shrug, eyes asking if it would be okay.

"Explore away!" He invited, pulling at Josh's plaid shirt and lifting his chin for a kiss.

Leaning down, Josh claimed his mouth and recaptured that fantasy that had brought them up here. He sat up and growled, looking at Aidan as if he didn't know where to start first. Starting at the top button of the older man's shirt, the werewolf moved his nose across the cloth, sniffing. He moved off of Aidan bodily to give himself room to sniff across Aidan's right shoulder, down the top of his right arm, back up the inside to move down Aidan's side.

All the while, Aidan couldn't help being giddy. With teeth, claws and a tail involved, this would feel very threatening, but when it was Josh in control, Josh trusting him enough to allow his werewolf instincts to the forefront, it was a heady experience. He tried to keep his laughter silent, he didn't want to disturb the werewolf from his task, and he didn't want Josh to think he was laughing at him. The sniffing did tickle, and he couldn't help but laugh harder when Josh's attention was caught at a spot where Aidan knew he had been touched that day. In his explorations, Josh had zeroed in on Aidan's right bicep, and found an interesting spot at the left top abdominal as he worked his way across the vampire's torso. Josh moved over to the other side, investigating Aidan's left arm, then down Aidan's side to examine the lower abdominals and groin. Aidan knew the fact that he was hard would not be missed by the inquisitive wolf. That area was thoroughly investigated! Aidan couldn't help but laugh out loud when Josh got down to scenting his upper thighs, and sent him a reproving look. Josh continued down, perusing Aidan's ankles. He took off the vampire's socks, then started to scent his way up Aidan's legs again.

Moving back up, Josh sniffed at the places he had found scent the first time around. He sniffed at Aidan's right bicep, and then the upper left abdominals. He took off Aidan's shirt, and then smelled at those places again. Removing Aidan's wife-beater, he checked out Aidan's abs one last time. Stretching out to lie alongside vampire, Josh comfortably laid his leg over Aidan's, and rested his hand upon Aidan's chest as his other hand held up his head. He looked Aidan in the eyes, laughing a little at the vampire's glee.

"What did you find?" Aidan asked him.

Josh touched the spot on Aidan's right arm. "You spent quite a bit of time with a man today who smelled like aftershave and leather. He touched you here."

The vampire laughed and nodded. "The Deputy. A police officer we brought over from down south," he affirmed. "What else?"

"You were with a woman who wore expensive perfume. She sat on your lap, and touched you here." Josh moved his hand to indicate the spot on Aidan's abs.

"Did I sleep with her?" Aidan asked.

There werewolf gave the vampire a begrudging smile, and shook his head. "Nope." There was no scent of her on Aidan's groin, but there was a light coating of her perfume on Aidan's thighs. Most women wear perfume on the pulse points, like their neck and wrists, so the heat of their body will carry the scent. But as a pulse-impaired woman-on-the-go, she must have needed to improvise, and took to spraying her perfume straight on to her clothing.

"You sure?" Aidan drawled teasingly, unbuttoning Josh's plaid shirt.

"Yes." Josh's answer was definite. He sat up, taking off the shirt and tossing it over to the armchair. He moved to lie down again, but Aidan immediately unbuttoned the button on his pants. Josh got up briefly to remove his pants. There was no pair of boxers underneath. Josh sat back down on the bed, his legs to the side and propped up on one arm.

Aidan smirked at Josh, quirking one eyebrow. "And where have you been?" He asked slowly, still teasing him. He grasped Josh's wrist to sniff at Josh's free hand. He pulled Josh over him slowly while he smelled the length of Josh's arm. When Aidan was satisfied with is assessment of that limb, he reached for Josh's other arm, lightly grasping it and looking at Josh.

Since Josh was balancing on that hand, he had to readjust his position, choosing to straddle Aidan's stomach, allowing Aidan to investigate his other arm. Again, Aidan started with Josh's open hand, and worked his way up. This time, he didn't stop at Josh's bicep; he ghosted his nose across Josh's scarred shoulder, pulling Josh's body down to sniff at the werewolf's neck. Putting his hands on Josh's sides, he urged Josh to move up, gently forcing his friend to willingly submit to the inspection.

A thumping carotid artery made his teeth tingle with want, despite the wolf-smell warning not to drink. He let his fangs click out anyway, all the more to play the big bad predator. He nipped lightly at Josh's skin, testing wolfy-Josh's reaction to his slightly dominate behavior and the biting, which was a part of canine courtship. He continued to pull Josh upwards, giving one nipple a cursory lick before sucking on the other one. The vampire picked a sensitive, ticklish spot on the side of his ribs to gently take a piece of skin and hold it in his mouth, just as Josh was wont to do to him.

Josh moved his hands up to brace himself on his headboard, threading his fingers through the metal bars and held himself still for Aidan.

Aidan released the skin with a couple of quick licks, leaving an impression of fang dents on the top, and an even row of lightly ridged teeth on the bottom that arced upwards and left what looked like a funny little smiley face in relief pressed into Josh's side.

Scootching Josh up a bit farther, Aidan repeated this move on the most vulnerable spot on Josh's unprotected tummy. Josh jumped ever so slightly, his breath hitching and his body instinctively tensing, but he held his ground. Aidan could feel Josh's cock on his chest, rock hard and throbbing.

As before, Aidan released the bite-hold with a couple of licks, and gave his friend's lower abdomen a final round of sniffing. Urging Josh to complete his journey up Aidan's body by bringing his knees from below Aidan's arm to above Aidan's shoulders, Aidan told Josh, "I know what you have been doing since you got home."

"Oh, yeah?" The werewolf responded, trying for nonchalant but too aroused to pull it off convincingly. While he straddled his friend's head he asked, "What's that?"

"You've been in the tub, waiting for me!" Aidan couldn't help but be a little smug. There was practically no scent on Josh's skin save water, Aidan's body wash, and the strong scent produced by Josh's condition. He had to have been soaking in the tub for some time, far longer than just for a perfunctory courtesy. That told the vampire that Josh had been looking forward to this all day. Aidan gave a slow, gloating lick to Josh's cock.

For his part, the orderly knew he had been had. He closed his eyes and chuckled silently with a why-yes-I-did-but-I-really-didn't-want-to-admit-it slow shake of his head. Also, he had didn't want to encourage his friend to talk, seeing as he finally had said friend's tongue right where he's been wanting it to be all night.

But Aidan's hands again pressed his hips forward, and he felt Aidan's tonguing his scrotum then sucking it into his mouth. The gentle tongue massage felt deliciously soothing and arousing until, pushing Josh back slightly, Aidan worked his testicles to the bottom of his scrotum, and Josh had just enough time to wonder what his roommate was up to when he felt the unmistakable press of fangs on his balls.

Josh felt his entire body stiffen. He wanted nothing more than to bark out his friend's name in a warning and reproving tone, but he knew the vampire was playing a game of Chicken. The organs currently clasped between the vampire's teeth were telling him not to lose the game for sake of pride. Even though his gonads would never produce the children that he had expected to father in his life, he still wanted them intact! His breaths grew quick and shallow while Josh fought the rising urge to struggle and strike out against his aggressor. But after just a few scant seconds, before Josh's mind could begin to formulate a solid escape plan, Aidan pushed him forward again, sucking the entire scrotal sac into his mouth, wiggling his tongue and suckling gently. Aidan let it go, licking tenderly, and gave Josh a swat on the bottom for being silly enough to panic. They were just two buddies having a little bit of fun, for cripe's sake!

Gently, Aidan pushed him forward a little bit more, then the questing tongue was generously lathing his perineum. From behind him, the older man's hands wrapped around his upper thighs, indicating to Josh he wanted him to spread his legs and settle a little lower. Easily, Josh complied. The hands slid down and back up the length of his thighs, a kindly caress to reward his cooperation. Before the elbows came up to bend over his legs, locking him down into that position at the same time he felt the tongue roving under him push its way inside.

"Oh" he exclaimed, his fingers gripping his headboard tighter and his back arching. The firm grip was turning him on almost as much as what Aidan's tongue was actually doing to him back there.

One very thorough licking later, Aidan let him go. Josh automatically moved to get off of his friend, but Aidan stopped him, saying "I want you to stay right there, but get up on your feet, squatting over me."

After having been held down for several minutes of the loveliest sensations, Josh's legs weren't eager to cooperate. In the end it was easier to stand up then squat rather than to get straight up into a squatting position. Josh doubled his torso over his legs, which helped him balance his weight so the position held itself, and took a secure hold of the headboard again so he didn't totter over, either backwards on to Aidan or forwards head first into the wall.

When they had moved in, someone had already mounted the refrigeration coils off a busted old freezer as an environmentally conscious, techno-artistic, kitschy, alternative headboard. It was far easier to clean than pleated fabric, and so firmly bolted to the studs it would chime faintly when the front door was closed too hard or when Sally's agitation was shaking the house. He had kept it. Josh had liked the masculine, industrial feel it gave the room. But he was starting to suspect that he had discovered its real purpose: monkey sex. Josh found himself thinking how easy it would be to tie someone to it. Or maybe handcuffs? He dismissed these thoughts with a little negating shake of his head. He was just thinking of other things to avoid feeling awkward and vulnerable in that position. He knew he shouldn't, but he supposed he was just fated to be uptight like that!

From below and behind him, he heard the lubricant bottle click open and then closed again. Slippery fingers teased his entrance, and then slipped inside of him. Josh closed his eyes and concentrated on his breathing and relaxing his muscles. The sensation of Aidan opening him up, Aidan being inside of him that had felt so unfamiliar at the beginning felt a bit different in this position: A new rehash of the old unfamiliar. Not better, just different.

In his mind's eye he saw what Aidan must see. Josh trusting him, holding himself open above him, a first rate view of his own fingers sliding in and out of Josh's ass… Josh thought about how hot it would be if their positions were reversed and Aidan was doing this for him. He felt his cock twitch and harden. It was a little degrading, but it was the gift of that capitulation that made it so hot.

As the third finger as added, Aidan finally turned his attention back to Josh's cock. He bunched up the pillow behind his head and guided Josh's cock into his mouth.

The appreciative moan Josh meant to make came out as a growl. Since Aidan didn't have a lot of room down there, Josh gave an experimental and hopefully gentle thrust. Aidan allowed the move, urging Josh to keep thrusting. He held his fingers static behind Josh, letting Josh push himself back onto the fingers as he thrust shallowly in to Aidan's mouth.

Aidan disentangled them, telling him," alright… You're ready… Get down there!" When Josh stood up on the bed one of his knees popped loudly. He must have been down there longer than he thought! Josh sat down on the bed near Aidan's hips, snagging the lubricant and a couple of washcloths from the nightstand. Aidan's underwear wasn't doing a very good job of preserving his modesty. It was tenting so badly the elastic band was floating an inch or so above his belly button. Working in tandem, they got Aidan's undies off, and Josh applied the lubricant to Aidan's sex in broad, caressing strokes. The orderly wiped his hands dry on a washcloth, folded it in half, and with Aidan's cooperation, slipped the washcloth under Aidan's bottom to catch the wet spot.

For his part, the older man bunched up the pillows behind him to elevate his torso. As Josh was slowly working Aidan's cock in to his body, Aidan quickly applied a few meager drops of the lubricant to Josh's erection. When Josh had all of him, Aidan gathered Josh to him, pulling the younger man down so their chests touched. "Grind against me," he whispered in Josh's ear.

When Josh started to move, there was the twin sensation of Aidan's cock pulling out of him as he was pushing up against his friend. It was a little rough at first, not enough lubrication, but when he got a rhythm going, precum and perspiration provided the perfect amount of friction.

This wasn't going to last long, Josh knew he felt like the top of his head was gonna pop off from the pleasure of it. Aidan's hand was on his waist, holding them close together where Josh's cock was trapped between them. Josh was panting into the pillow beside Aidan's head. "oh, god, I'm close," Josh moaned.

"Go," Aidan urged him. After a year of living together, the vampire knew that once the moon started to affect his friend, the werewolf could get himself off up to five times in a single day. This was just round one!

Josh opened himself up to the sensations building inside of him, letting them crest to an apex. Growling into his pillow his rhythm stuttered, his warm fluids spreading out in a warm pool between them, wetting them both.

Aidan let his friend go still on top of him and gave him a moment to recover before gently thrusting up in to his friend's tight, quivering heat.

Shifting a little to lessen the stimulation to his still-erect penis, Josh obligingly rocked his body to deepen his friend's thrusts. He got up on his elbows, looking deeply in to his friend's black eyes before slipping his tongue into the vampire's mouth. After a thorough kiss, the younger man kissed and nipped his way down to bite at Aidan's neck.

An electric shock ran through the vampire's body at the feeling of Josh's teeth applying pressure against the carotid artery. He moaned and he felt his cock twitch and harden inside of his friend. His fangs ached to bite, to seek out that heartbeat that he could feel thrumming around his sex.

A memory suddenly flashed bright in Aidan's mind, a realization that THIS is what Rebecca had been doing when he had lost control, turned into her, bit deep and drank her down. Somehow, when he had replayed the moment in his mind, it was him on top, attacking her with no warning. Remembering this small detail, that she had done something that had provoked the attack, changed nothing. Rebecca had still been an innocent victim, and he was still guilty of her murder. Even as the understanding of what he had done was dawning on him, even as his denial rushed up to defend him, he had been reveling in her blood; greedily drinking her down as he rolled them over and he rode her. Her struggles ceased and her heartbeat stopped. He knew she was dead and while that still small voice whispered of the impending shame and guilt over what he had done, what he was still doing, he didn't care, he couldn't feel bad at that moment, it had felt too good to quench that cloying, clawing hunger. He slipped out of her long enough to take off the condom and rearrange her legs. Back inside of her, he rose up on his knees, pressing and moving her cooling body against him. The arms and head of her corpse had dangled back limply. He let his teeth rip into the soft, fragrant flesh between her breasts as he came inside of her, just like the old days, glorying in the satiation of hunger after months of deprivation and starvation, weakness and yearning. It had been too much of a relief to FEED.

Aidan's hands quickly grabbed at Josh's shoulders, yanking him back. Josh stopped, looking down at him, startled. "You might wanna… I uh… I haven't eaten… and…" Aidan's stammering trailed off awkwardly. The vampire closed his eyes, a brief flinch of discomfort crossed Aidan's features before Josh heard the click of the fang teeth retracting.

When Aidan's brown eyes looked up at him again, Josh dropped his forehead to rest against Aidan's. "So… You're saying that I need to keep your mouth busy?" Josh teased lightly.

Despite himself, the nurse gave a small chuckle. Josh resumed his rocking, and after a couple of slow thrusts back onto Aidan's pole, he closed his lips over the vampire's. The kiss was soft at first, and then more firmly as Aidan responded, kissing him back and meeting his thrusts to get deeper. Josh would let the kiss build, and then pull back with his lips parted, teasing, coaxing Aidan to catch him. On his third time doing this, Aidan took the bait, grabbing Josh's head and thrusting his tongue into Josh's mouth; kissing him deeply and thrusting up harder and faster. Inwardly, Josh smirked. He had gotten his friend mostly back on track, but the idea of putting is tongue into Aidan's mouth right now had all the appeal of frenching a staple remover.

Ending the kiss, he sat up on his knees, his body bouncing as he rode Aidan. His softened cock was tickling Aidan's abdomen and jiggling around in the ejaculate coating his roommate's stomach. Looking down at him now, Josh saw a drip of his own semen running down Aidan's side. Careful not to break his stride, he caught the wayward drip with the wash cloth. He didn't want to be Molly Fricking Merry Maid in bed, but only his vigilance was going to prevent protein stains when said protein was being produced in such abundance!

Aidan grabbed his hips, thrusting up fast and with a loud moan, came inside of him and then after a moment, dropped back to the bed with another moan of relief and contentment. Josh couldn't help but smile. Josh thought: Fuck roommate, check!

Josh turned the cloth on himself, cleaning off his stomach. Aidan decided he still liked it where he was; thrusting up slowly into Josh's warmth. It was nice and wet and gooey with his own semen squishing around his cock in there. When Josh was satisfied that the ejaculate on his stomach was gone, he refolded the cloth and started mopping up the mess on Aidan's stomach.

"Are you done there? I'm hungry!" Josh complained, keeping his tone light and teasing.

"I thought you were horny!" Aidan teased back, keeping his cock hard by moving it inside of Josh.

"I was, but now I'm starving! I thought you were hungry too?"

The vampire sighed. "Always, but I'm happy here. When I'm inside of you I can feel your heartbeat through my whole body; or when you're inside of me."

The werewolf paused, narrowing his eyes slightly and said conversationally, "I never thought I would sleep with a man whose biggest turn on was a heartbeat."

Aidan sent him a dazzling smile, waggling his eyebrows.

"Yeah, well… save that for later, mister! Because you… are… evicted!" Josh dived off to the side.

Arching his hips up off the bed, Aidan tried to stay inside the younger man's body. But it was a lost cause. Josh had escaped him. "Awwww," he complained.

Josh sent him an affectionate look, shaking his head; already busy wiping at Aidan's leavings with a clean cloth. He tossed another cloth to Aidan. "Come on! Dinnertime!" He found Aidan's underwear and tossed it further up the bed into Aidan's easy reach, retrieved a pair of Aidan's jeans and a plain white t-shirt that belonged to the older man that he had been stowing on his armchair, and tossed those next to the underwear.

Going for his own clothes, Josh hoped Aidan wouldn't notice he left a folded washcloth tucked up against his bottom when he put his underwear on. His roommate had opened him up pretty good, and if those fluids inside of him had a mind to leak out, he would rather it didn't wet the seat of his pants during dinner.

Barefoot, the two men padded downstairs together. They found their most feminine roommate reading a magazine at the kitchen table. Josh beat Aidan to the sink, washed his hands, and set straight to rooting around in the refrigerator.

"Sally!" Aidan exclaimed. "How are you today?"

"Oh, you know…" The ghost replied softly, not looking away from her article, "every day above ground..."

Aidan sent her an indulgent, affectionate smile before taking his turn to wash his hands. Josh handed him one of the blood bags stashed in the door of the fridge. While Aidan microwaved his dinner, Josh set two eggs to boil. He was in the mood for Chef's Salad, heavy on the meat. He was craving protein. He felt himself pause with eyes closed; blushing at the thought 'Aidan just gave me some'. He resolved to put the thought behind him and move on, thankful that their dearest departed had no sense of smell. They reeked of sex.

Sally realized that her interest in the article she had been enjoying had been abruptly lost. She thought perhaps her roommates could be more entertaining. Her voice was confident and forthright. "So which one of you is on top?"

Josh's back straightened and he turned to give her a dirty look.

"We switch off," Aidan answered offhandedly. His eyes were glued to the microwave's timer display. He retrieved his mug and raised it gratefully to his lips. Before he could tip the warm thick liquid in to his mouth, he caught the reproving look that the werewolf was currently sending his way. Regretfully, he lowered the cup. "Well, Josh, would you rather have her asking or spying to find out?"

Josh's shoulders dropped with the acceptance of the disappointing reality that there was nothing he could do to completely preserve their privacy. He glanced back at her; a flat look tinged with blame. In return, she smiled sweetly back at him. Josh gave a little sigh. He had always been awkward with others. Sally and Aidan were cooler, people-oriented type people. The two of them would always be slightly more sympatico with each other than they were with Josh, sex notwithstanding. Even as a monster, he didn't quite gel with the other monsters. Josh sighed and refocused on the task.

"Hey!" Sally directed at Josh as Aidan joined her at the table, taking a deep drink. "At least the two of you are able to do something useful for each other! You get to find out what it is about sex with a vampire that has had the literati raving for over a hundred years, and Aidan gets to have a wild fling with the American Werewolf in Boston. Meanwhile, the only thing penciled in to my eternity is: Door, Lack Of."

Irritated, Josh stared in to empty space for a moment. Once more, Sally had managed to make it all about her. At least this little hissy fit has told him one thing: she wasn't spying on them! Wild fling? Secrets of sensational vampire sex? A small smile touched his lips. He cast an amused, dubious glance at his temporary lover only to find that exact look mirrored back at him by the older man. Both of them turned their attention back to their dinners.

"So Aidan, how is the Vampire Relocation Program going?" Sally asked.

Aidan tipped his head to the side, considering his answer while he rolled the nearly-lifeless blood over his tongue. It tasted awful. Penance always did. He swallowed it. Josh was cooking Prosciutto, Canadian Bacon and chopped pork in three separate pans. The overpowering odor of old blood burning permeated the kitchen, but not so much that Aidan's nose wasn't marinated in Josh's wolf smell, and able to detect the dried residue of the semen on his stomach. He looked at Sally. Usually, he considered female company that was safe from temptation a luxury to have. But sometimes, like now, he wished she had the enticing scent of skin and blood and feminine wiles. "It's going good," he responded calmly. "The new people are dropping in to place and all of the documentation is holding up well."

From there, they chit-chatted back and forth about all those little things you talk about with someone when it wasn't important what was said, just that you were saying it with each other.


	16. RoRChapter15

"You've had enough of two-hand touch.  
You want it rough; you're out of bounds…  
I want you smothered, want you covered,  
like my Waffle House hash browns!"  
- Bad Touch, Hooray for Boobies. The Bloodhound Gang.

Reciprocity of Ratiocination.

Chapter 15: An After-Dinner Refreshment.

Having finished his mug of blood first, Aidan excused himself to take a quick shower.

Josh powered through his meal efficiently while he and Sally brainstormed names that would be funny to give to the incoming vampires. He had his dishes washed before Aidan came out of the bathroom. Post shower, Aidan redressed himself in the same relaxed fit jeans and white t-shirt. While the orderly was showering the nurse took care of the mess in the bedroom, figuring it was the fastest way to get to round two. He returned his suit pants to his own room, gathered up the used wash cloths from Josh's room, and brought them downstairs and set them to soak in the washing machine. He would run the wash later since it was a safe bet that they would generate at least a little more laundry by the end of the night. He found a load of clean towels of various sizes in the dryer. While Aidan folded them, he tried to remember an actual load of towels in his previous bachelor living arrangements. He could remember none that were not precipitated by a burst pipe or storm flooding mishap. Finished, he brought the fresh stack upstairs.

Aidan smiled. Josh had finished his shower and left his bedroom door ajar, waiting for him. Aidan knocked on the door jamb. In a deep smooth voice, he said "housekeeping" before pushing the door open the rest of the way. Josh was still wearing his towel of course, because there wasn't really any point to put on so much as a robe when he knew he would just have to take it off again when Aidan arrived.

He closed the door with his elbow and crossed the room. "So… I'll just leave these," Aidan offered helpfully, and plunking down the small stack of towels by the bed. "and I'll take this one," the vampire reached for the tuck in the towel that held it fastened to the werewolf's waist. Unresisting, the younger man allowed it. Aidan grasped both ends of the towel and pulled them back around himself, pressing the two of them close together. "Do you require anything else tonight, sir?" He purred in Josh's ear. Through his jeans, he felt Josh's cock give an interested twitch.

"I'm gonna need you to take off your clothes for me." Josh's voice rumbled in his ear. Aidan chuckled. He draped Josh's bath towel over the desk chair, chucked his own clothes into Josh's arm chair, and was back in record time.

Aidan looked at Josh, clean from his shower and calculated how long Josh's shower had been, and what he might have gotten accomplished in that amount of time. Not much, he figured, which gave him an idea. Pulling their lower halves together, Aidan asked, "do you have anything particular in mind, or are you open?"

Josh's plan had been to free-form it, start with making out and just let their whims guide them. He found that Aidan could be quite passionate in those undirected sessions; those nights when there were no lessons and they were just blowing off steam. It was a good energy, and pretty damn hot. But if there was anything else that Josh had learned, it was that going along with Aidan's ideas could be a pretty interesting adventure. He smiled. "I'm open."

Hugging the young man to him, the old soldier slipped his tongue past the other man's lips, to caress and circle around the tongue that usually lived alone in that orifice. _Hello wolf… it's just little old me_… "Okay, get on the bed on your hands and knees, please."

Surprise was evident in Josh's face. His head jerked back just a fraction before his brows knit slightly and his eyes narrowed; his head turning a bit to the side to give an askance look that clearly stated: _what happened to "we switch off"_?

With amusement in his voice to soften the words, Aidan acknowledged the unspoken question. "Just… Get on the bed."

Giving him one last appraising look, Josh complied, settling himself in the upper middle of his bed.

Aidan came up behind him, walking on his knees from the foot of the bed and stopping between Josh's legs. Starting with Josh's shoulders, Aidan began to lightly run his fingernails over Josh's skin. Across the shoulder blades and down the back he went, followed by the sides, buttocks, and the back of Josh's thighs. Moving backwards on the bed, Aidan finished up the little skin massage on Josh's calves. "I need you to move backwards," he instructed Josh. Josh complied, and crawling, followed Aidan down the bed. Aidan stepped off onto the floor, stopping Josh with a "right there." Aidan stepped around the bed briefly to snag a pillow that would help make the hardwood floor a little softer. He knelt on the pillow in leaned over the end of the bed with his tummy resting on the mattress to help support his upper body. Using silent touches, Aidan position Josh to the perfect spot. He ran his hands in broad caresses as he peppered Josh's thighs and buttocks with slow suckling kisses. Then, reaching down between his friend's legs, grasped his hardening manhood and bent it back gently to slip it into his mouth and suckle.

Josh growled, taking in the feeling of Aidan's mouth tight around his cock. He could feel Aidan's breath tickling his balls; with his mouth so full the vampire had to breathe through his nose. With a deep moan, Josh began rocking back and forth ever so slightly unable to keep still. Aidan's lips slid up Josh's cock, his hand catching it to hold it in place as he ran his tongue in a farewell lick down the underside. The nurse gently returned Josh's penis back into the position in which he found it, and moved his attention to tending to his friend's testicles. He re-explored the skin first with his lips and breath, then licking at every centimeter before popping the entire scrotal sack into his mouth. He pressed his lips to Josh's body around his balls and wiggled his head back and forth gently to stimulate the pelvic floor muscles a little more deeply.

Large, strong hands gripped the sides of Josh's hips as he felt Aidan's tongue take the same journey that it had before dinner, straight to his sphincter. Josh's poor abused hole was still sensitive from their earlier exertions, and the muscle was still stretched out a bit. Aidan's tongue met almost no resistance when it slipped through his hole to lick him deep. A flash of guilt went through Josh at his failure to warn Aidan that in his eagerness to get to round two, and figuring that his ass play was over for the night, he had only washed the outside of his body. He hadn't rinsed out the leavings of Aidan's earlier orgasm. But as he felt the man's tongue twirl around inside of him, Josh realized that was THE POINT. He thought about what Sally had said downstairs "you get to find out what it is about sex with a vampire that has had the literati raving for over a century." It finally dawned on the werewolf that he might be seeing a facet of his friend's condition at work. Feeling a light touch to the inside of his elbows, Josh lowered his upper body to rest on the mattress, pressing his temple to the cool sheet beneath him. Gently, Aidan guided Josh's own hands to reach behind him. "Hold yourself open for me, Josh." Again, Josh did as he was asked, each hand grasping one of his buttocks. He let his arms relax, the weight of them comfortably spreading his butt cheeks apart and offering his hole to his roommate. The older man's hands caressed his thighs. "Mmmm, that's perfect!" Aidan cooed at him, his tongue driving deeper inside of Josh while one hand massaged his scrotal sack and the other hand slowly pumped his cock.

Josh gave a loud, short moan, followed by a low drawn out growl. But even under this triple onslaught, he couldn't get the last thought out of his mind.

Back when the New World was new, the adult entertainment of the day was a burlesque show: the teasing, unfulfilled promise of nudity. With the invention of photography came permanent sexual images: topless photos of both men and women. It is the nature of entertainment to evolve, to become more lascivious and salacious to get our attention. Topless photos become nudes. From nudes, it moved to naked people and the suggestion of sexual activity. Still pictures become moving pictures, though Stag Films were a bit of a novelty until the invention of the VCR, and the arrival of adult cable channels and pay-per-view. Then, mainstream pornography went from nudie mags to videos. From videos, the progression continued. Oral sex and vaginal intercourse came to include toys, anal and group sex. Videos moved from Mylar tape to the Internet where competition between sites caused the raunchiness level of the content to increase exponentially. It's common for a single twenty minute scene to include fellatio, cunnilingus, analingus, vaginal intercourse, anal intercourse, missionary, doggy style, cowgirl, reverse cowgirl, and spoon position. And that's not even including fetish and same sex couplings.

All this brings us to the ubiquitous money shot; the moment in the film when the man will withdraw from his partner's body, to show the camera and viewing audience evidence of his orgasm: his ejaculation. This moment too has evolved throughout time. It's an easy guess that the grainy quality and inconsistent speed of early films didn't allow for this kind of shot. Stag films and early videos show a man's seed spilling over the woman's stomach, breasts, or buttocks, or whatever part was most handy from their last sexual position. But more and more, the scene ends like this: the couple would be pumping away in a variety of positions and then unmounts. The woman will rush to get to her knees to wait dutifully with her face tipped up and her mouth open wide for however long it takes for the man to stand over her and masturbate himself to completion.

Now a days, it seems like a 90% chance a sex scene will end that way. A fact Josh found frustrating after he was turned, when the need for a respite from the depression and loneliness would drive him to seek a place with some privacy and an internet connection for his laptop. He wasn't the hooker type, and didn't want any involvement that could endanger any woman he might meet. At the same time, he had been desperately in need for a little taste of an actual physical intimate connection. There's something to be said for that basic human sexual interaction, the experience of someone else bringing you to orgasm. If he had really wanted to see a guy jacking off to a woman, all he had to do was look down. (Seriously, how many couples found that way the most satisfying ending to lovemaking a hundred years ago? Not many, most likely! It's so unrealistic!) So Josh had explored the section for cream pie porn, when a man will ejaculate while still inside the woman. He also liked the fact that in this particular featured video series, the star would take the time to bring the woman to orgasm, too. Well, that's when the old Josh missed sex. Sometimes feeling wolfy would weigh heavily in the selection, then it was ex-girlfriend revenge fuck porn… Which always ended with the come-on-her-face-shot.

Variations of this shot have evolved into new categories of their own. Add more men, and you got bukkake: several men ejaculating on one or more women. Add more women, and you get pop swapping: when a woman would catch ejaculate in her mouth, and then spit, dribble, or French kiss the semen into the mouth of another woman.

Josh considered the porn site he had been using for years to be very mainstream. It included videos from around the world, videos like fetishes for feet and leather, vintage porn from the seventies and early eighties, college girls, MILFs, cougars, you name it. All this content was presented virus free and without charge. There were absolutely, positively no children, no animals, and no depictions of real harm or violence; Just consenting adults sexing each other's brains out. Lately, a couple of videos have been added in which a woman performs oral sex on a man, catches the man's load in her mouth, and then French kisses the man. Pop swapping with the man who just… Popped. At least two other videos jumped into Josh's mind which ended with the woman gathering the ejaculate in her hand, and both she and her partner lick it up: Straight guys licking up their own semen.

All of this went through Josh's mind in a flash. Was it a nod to female viewers, after women have been expected to eagerly put anything and everything in their mouths with no objections; no matter what it is or where it has been, with no resistance or complaint from the very beginning of pornos? Was it a joke to gross out the male viewers? Or was it upping the ante one more notch? If mainstream pornography was the benchmark of what was expected of each of us in bed, was Aidan inadvertently trying to give him a lesson in a vampire's fashion forward sexuality?

Josh can see the benefit of not minding ingesting his own juices in bed. There were times when Julia was stressed out and tense from school work and family drama. Nothing would get her turned on and in the mood like a quickie. He had no trouble imagining that she most likely would have gotten off on some oral after he finished, but he just couldn't bring himself to do it. If you didn't know what semen tasted like, watching these videos you would be thinking whipped cream and sponge cake, not the bitter, salty and sharply organic nastiness that it was. While Josh discovered he was happily willing to suck Aidan's cock or any other part of Aidan's body he could get his mouth on, the idea of guzzling down a man's cum as it squirted warm out of his body was still revolting. Josh figured he was just a typical straight guy, open to enjoying a little butt play, but drawing the line at drinking the man juice. Maybe he would feel differently if he were longer lived; considering all the cleanup saved after sucking guys off for a couple hundred years; the path of least resistance, expediency and all that. It wasn't blood, so maybe Aidan couldn't even taste it, but then again, it was a body fluid so maybe he could?

Regardless, thinking about the sex they had earlier, and Aidan's tongue exploring that sensitivity and the product of that coupling… Josh's hands clasped his buttocks tighter. He turned his head to growl into the mattress. It was just too damned dirty not to be hot!

Aidan gave Josh's ass one last hard suck, dragged his tongue up the cleft between Josh's buttocks, and kissed his way up the young man's spine, covering his body and wrapping him in an embrace. Josh could feel his roommate's hard length pressing against his bottom. The vampire rolled his hips, purring at the contact as he placed a lingering kiss on the spot on the werewolf's neck where the pulse was strongest. He slowly licked at that same spot almost tasting the blood moving underneath. The feeling of the heartbeat against his tongue shot tingles over all of his body and brought out his fangs. He rolled his hips again, dragging the sharp point of his fang teeth across the skin as he followed the shape of Josh's neck up to whisper in his ear.

Deep and rumbly, Aidan murmured, "still open?"

The werewolf answered in a breathy sigh. "Oh, yeah!"

"I want you to fuck me so hard I'll still feel it in the morning meeting!" Even before the words left his mouth, Aidan knew it was wrong. Yes, they did need to do this. Yes, their time together was very short. Losing control and being too rough was Josh's preeminent concern. So of course he needed to give his friend a chance to gauge his reactions to more exuberant sexual activity. But it should be done slowly, with more deliberation to let Josh feel his way through and truly learn from the experience, not as something he had to rush through to please his partner.

Aidan knew his control over himself was slipping. He felt pressured and stressed, and he was looking to self-indulgence for comfort. He was in the mood to cheat a little on his diet. Setting a man up to fail epically was not the act of a friend. Josh had volunteered to get screwed, not screwed over. But Aidan couldn't help himself; couldn't stop himself.

Josh turned his head slightly, his body perfectly still in Aidan's firm embrace. "On your back."

The older man rushed to comply, flipping over eagerly, only to have to immediately get back up again as Josh spread out one of the large fluffy towels across the center of the bed. Aidan spread himself out over the towel, ready and waiting. Josh grabbed a washcloth and the small bottle from the night stand, and he was spreading the lubricant on his fingers even as he moved to kneel between Aidan's legs. Setting the cloth aside for later, Josh's clean hand lifted Aidan's firm erection and he gave a moan as he slid it into his mouth; a throaty vibration to tingle all those happy little nerve endings.

He let himself take a few long seconds to glide his mouth up and down, taking Aidan as deeply in his throat as he could. Pulling off, he grasped his friend's cock with the hand coated with lubricant, pumping firmly to get it nice and slick. Just as Aidan had done with him earlier, Josh worked his way backwards, kissing and mouthing at the testicles.

The vampire lifted his knees, hooking his hands around the back of his thighs to hold himself open. Josh hid a smile as he slid his tongue along Aidan's perineum and down to tease and work its way into that ring of warm tight muscle. Another good thing about vampires? They heal back as tight as a virgin, every time!

When Josh's tongue started to get tired, Josh trailed his lubricated fingers down to finish the process. He licked moisture on to his other palm to more easily give a light massage to Aidan's shaft and balls. Just for some variety, Josh kissed, sucked, and nibbled on the sensitive skin on the back of Aidan's thighs.

Josh worked his friend open as time efficiently as he could without being negligent or sloppy. One finger, then two. When he was at three fingers and holding, he withdrew from his friend's body. He transferred all the lube that he could from his hand to his own erection before wiping both hands dry on the washcloth.

Scooting into position, there was no need to ask his friend if he were ready. He obviously was. He was still holding his body totally open and waiting for Josh. Taking a firm hold of his own swollen shaft, Josh pressed the head to his friend's opening, gently increasing the pressure until force overcame resistance and his cock head disappeared smoothly into his friend's warm, tight ass. There was nothing like watching your own dick going inside of someone else's body, and feeling that wet sheath slide over you and hold you suspended inside. It was gorgeous.

Watching Aidan's face for any tension or discomfort, Josh pressed forward until he was all the way inside. The first couple of thrusts were slow and deep to be sure the vampire was acclimated to him. Putting Aidan's legs over his shoulders, he hunched low over the other man's body, using his lower back to thrust a little faster at first, and then a little stronger. Oh, yes… That felt wonderful! He varied his thrusts, first slow and hard, and then speeding up to plow his buddy fast and shallow. He got up on his knees, holding Aidan's legs down with his hands to lean higher over his friend and get better leverage.

Josh was glad this was their second go-around of the night. He would be able to last a lot longer. He found a good angle and fell into an ambitious rhythm. This was nice. It felt so good not to hold himself in check, to just lose himself in the sensations. In this glorious cocoon of skin and scent and colors, Josh felt something else gathering on the periphery of his awareness; like a crowd of speculative onlookers watching with an evaluative eye to decide the usefulness of the current activity for them. Tinged red and hiding behind trees, the forest was coming for Josh: the wolves in sheep's clothing. But Josh felt too warm and safe and happy to feel concerned. He met the first tendrils of anger with curiosity. He watched punishment porn from time to time, it was harmless. His best friend wanted to get fucked so hard he would feel it in the morning. Well, Josh could make sure he felt it in his next lifetime.

With the growl, Josh pulled out of his friend, pressed Aidan's right leg down to lay straight on the bed and pushed his left leg over to the right. Straddling Aidan's bottom leg, Josh plunged back in to the hilt, mounting him from the side. After a couple of deep, firm thrusts, Josh let himself lie over his friend to grasp the left shoulder cap in his teeth. The muscle there was developed and toned to perfection. Aidan had it so easy, didn't he? With a pretty face and a chiseled masculine form, everyone who met Aidan immediately wanted to fuck him. Even Josh's own lesbian sister! They were nice to him, flirted with him, and gave him an instant pass because they wanted to fuck him. Danny had probably only waived the background check and rented them the apartment because he thought he can get Aidan to blow him sometime down the line. And Aidan got his pick, he could have any piece of ass he wanted, and if he wasn't interested… he would still charm them, string them along, and still collect those free passes. He would never know what it was like to be scrawny and awkward and having to work hard for every opportunity he got.

Softly, the bed frame began tapping the wall in time with Josh's thrusts.

How hard Josh had worked to win his Julia. He had loved her so purely, took his time building a solid foundation, and somehow he had passed the cut. And she had loved him back, a miracle that was ripped away from him by stupid, fucking Ray!

The tapping grew louder. Josh tasted blood. Dimly he wished Aidan had put the strap on him, so he could fuck him with his balls too.

They were on their way to becoming the most quietly unassuming power couple of their class! When Josh was a teenaged virgin he had wanted to be a lover like Don Juan, one that could please women again and again and make them eager to repeat the experience. He had studied ways to please women, only to discover that every woman was different, that there were no sure fire ways to please every woman, and he was too awkward to pull it off anyway. So he decided to be a Romeo for one lady, the perfect guy. And what did it get him? A little over a year deeply committed with one happy woman, and then two years of unimaginable disconnection and solitude. And now he's in bed with another man! A fucking man, when what he really wants to do is drag that blond into the basement, rip off every thread of her clothing, and make… Her… Scream!

That last thought sent a cold flash of shock through his body, bringing him back to reality in time to hear the solid thunk of the bed frame against the wall, and the reverberating chime of his headboard. Gingerly, he slid his teeth out of Aidan's shoulder.

In the stunned silence of his mind, he heard a man's voice, clear and steady. "I've got to get a hold of myself. Right now!" The voice wasn't his. Josh recognized it as a sound bite from an old video game. He had played a few of those cheap, storylined puzzle games on his laptop as a distraction after he realized that a cure… along with his life, career and family… was now beyond him. It was weird to be suddenly thinking of it now.

The next voice in his head wasn't his either. It was Sally's, from earlier that night. "… And Aidan gets to have a wild fling with the American Werewolf in Boston!" Randomness. Josh closed his eyes and shook his head to dispel the nonsense.

He was shaking. "I'm sorry," he whispered to the man pinned underneath him, but he was in for another shock.

Under him, Aidan writhed. "Josh… Don't stop! Please!" The vampire guided the werewolf's hand to his hard sex. He was so hard Josh wouldn't have been surprised if it were painful. Poor Aidan! He needed people so badly, and for the life of him he couldn't keep away from drama and out of trouble. A plaintive sound came from deep in his throat as he tried to rock himself back onto Josh's cock.

Kinky little bastard, isn't he? Josh thought, frantically trying to reframe his mind. The werewolf leaned forward, dragging a flat tongue over Aidan's shoulder to gather up the blood while his hand stroked Aidan's straining manhood. Well, he shouldn't keep the gentleman waiting any longer than necessary, now should he?

Taking an extra second or two to be sure he felt centered, Josh pulled almost all the way out of his friend before starting again with a firm thrust. With a growl, he changed the angle, thrusting a little harder still. He took another swipe of blood with his tongue, letting the scant drops of blood make his mouth water before spitting it back into his hand and smearing it as lubricant over his friend's impossibly hard erection. He certainly wasn't going to stop now to track down that lube! Josh had definitely recaptured the pure joy of mating, grinding deep with every thrust to explore and claim that hot, tight ass.

When Josh was satisfied that the head of his dick had rubbed up against every inch of the inside of Aidan's rectal cavity, he turned back to the request of the day: fucking his best friend hard. Josh repositioned himself to give his hips more room to move. He briefly considered making Aidan beg him for it. But… dude! Twice should be enough!

Josh let go of Aidan's sex for the time being, wiping his hand down the towel beneath them to dry it enough to get some traction. He grabbed Aidan's hips, thrusting true and in earnest, finding a good slow cadence to give his friend the time to really enjoy it. The bed frame was bumping against the wall again, coaxing a faint chime from the refrigerator coils.

"Oh, yes!" Aidan moaned. Tired of the bed absorbing most of the thrusts, he flipped his torso to lay his chest flat to the bed, his hands coming up to thread his fingers through the metal curls of the headboard. He pushed back against his lover, arching his back to open himself up even more, and get Josh deeper inside of him. "Harder, Josh! Oh, harder!"

Ever the considerate lover, Josh obliged him, pulling the older man's hips down to meet him out of concern that the impact might strain Aidan's back. Josh knew he was reaching the limits of how far he was willing to go, how hard he was willing to thrust into his partner, but where they were now felt pretty amazing. He could feel the pressure building in his whole body; tingling and humming with silent power. He was growling and moaning; he was embracing the moment and just letting himself go. No censoring or holding himself back. He changed position, lying over his friend's body. He licked his left hand to wrap it around Aidan's cock before latching his teeth on to Aidan's left shoulder, pressing a second bite mark into his shoulder without breaking the skin.

Josh grunted a warning to Aidan that his orgasm was about to overtake him. He tightened his hand around his roommates cock and quickened his pace, trying to bring them off at the same time. But the little fucker grabbed his wrist, holding his hand still and letting him tumble over the edge alone. Josh could not remember coming this hard in his entire life. His mind went blank, filled only with the pleasurable contractions of his pelvic floor, and the relief of his semen pumping out of him and deep into his best friend.

He lay perfectly still for a moment, enjoying that newly-spent feeling. Pulling his arm out of Aidan's grasp, he ran his hands up Aidan's side, loving the feel of the firm skin over hard muscle. Making a small movement of his hips moved him inside Aidan just enough to feel the tickle of his own fluids swishing around his cock. His whole body shivered.

Normally, Aidan would have been patient and waited until his partner was ready to extricate himself. But tonight there was some deep thread of him twisted and knotted up, pulling and pressurizing every corner of his being. Using his left knee for leverage, he managed to scoot himself up enough to uncouple him from the werewolf, use that same thigh to push Josh off of him, then straightening the leg to roll to his other side to face Josh, using his strength to pull Josh onto his side and back tight against his own body.

Josh was surprised to say the least. One second on top of his friend, a couple of seconds later, he was suddenly spooned up by a writhing, horny man. Aidan didn't enter Josh's body, instead choosing to nestle his hard sex between Josh's buttocks and thrust against him. Aidan rested his top leg on top of Josh's legs, holding Josh's lower body down. Aidan's right arm was holding his torso securely, Aidan's hand splayed over his abdomen and pressing Josh back into his thrusts. Aidan's left hand was under Josh's neck, bending Josh backwards and slightly elevated as he held Josh's neck up to his lips. Aidan's mouth was open on Josh's neck, fang teeth pressing against the skin over his jugular. There was no telltale sting of broken skin, but Josh's heartbeat sped up as he recognized the danger he was in. He couldn't move and a vampire had him by the neck! The moon was close. He had to trust he would be okay. And if he wasn't, then… No worries… Ever again.

A small cry escaped the nurse's lips as he reached his climax. Josh could feel a warm wetness spreading around his cleft. It was the vampire's turn to lie still, but his body was tense, holding the younger man immovable. Pitched low and sounding defeated, Aidan spoke. "For over 200 years my life has been about this need. About meeting it, fighting it… And giving into it."

Into Aidan's mind came a sunlit day, a little boy with large trusting eyes and a bleeding hand who was telling him, "It's just a scrape. See? Come on Aidan, don't be a wuss!" Aidan had looked, surprised that the drops of blood did not waken in him a raging thirst. It was one small step, one hope to add to his dream of being free. But the rest of that tragic story overshadowed and diminished that brief happy moment. That same little boy had taken Rebecca's snuff film out of his bedroom, curious of what it could be. His mother found it and accused him publicly of being a child molesting pervert. Aidan stopped protecting him from the bullies, and the boy was hit by a car. Aidan did nothing to save him. The grief and guilt drove him back to the blood dens. The boy died. It was sad, but it was over, and Aidan prepared to pull himself together and move on. But this was his life, and in his life, things always get worse.

The little boy came back a monster. The bullies turned up dead. It was up to Aidan to take care of the situation. The day that Aidan had killed Bernie was overcast and cold. Dead leaf litter carpeted the ground. The kid believed they were out to get a bite to eat. He was so hungry. Aidan laid out a plan to catch a deer to distract him. The only mercy he could afford to give the boy was to kill him before he realized that Aidan had betrayed him. Sneaking up behind him and making not a sound on the leaves, Aidan plunged a stake into the ten-year-old's body. But he had made a mistake. Bernie had been wearing a thick parka. The padding on the jacket had confused him, caused him to miscalculate, miss the little boy's heart. And instead of a merciful puff of dust, blood spurted out over his hand. Bernie screamed out, screamed his name begging him to stop. Aidan's only reply had been to adjust his angle and stab forward again, striking true and disintegrating the little boy forever. Aidan was alone, standing in a circle of dust on the dead leaves; alone with Bernie's screams in his head, added to the chorus of other screams that would haunt Aidan until the end of time.

Everything, in spite of his intentions, all goes to shit. A single tear slid down his cheek. "I just want to be able to manage my condition…"

Somewhere deep inside of him, the linchpin mooring that tension in him snapped, unspooled, unwound, and the whole system resettled, sound as a pound. Relieved, Aidan took an easy breath. "… Without hurting people," he finished in quiet awe. He slipped the handholding Josh's neck down to caress Josh's chest, hugging the younger man to him. Josh rested his head on Aidan's shoulder. The bleeding had stopped.

"I feel so much better," Aidan told him. "Thank you."

"Not a problem." Josh answered lightly, "Thank _You_!" Aidan had given him the room to face his biggest fear: losing control during sex. Looking at it now, it had been unrealistic to suppose that a good hate fuck could bleed off and cure the angry mood swings. They weren't caused by poor coping skills and a mailman who just wouldn't leave the flag up when he brought the mail. The anger was fallout: a self-renewing, never ending, biological side effect of his condition. It was his choice to either stew in it, or deal with it. And now, thanks to Aidan, he knew he could deal with it. He could trust himself with a woman.

Josh caressed one of the arms circling him, squeezed it. They had come to this bed as monsters. But here in the aftermath, covered in sweat and other bodily fluids, they found themselves united by another condition they could not outrun or change: their humanity.

"You know, if you need more, I'll give it." Josh said softly.

It was Aidan's turn to give the other man a caress and a squeeze. "I know." He kissed Josh behind the ear. Now that his little lunatic was under the moon's influence, the wolf scent was stronger. "I'm good."

Josh felt the tickle of semen running down across his buttock. They were still lying on the towel, but it was only one towel spread out flat. If left to pool, the semen could soak through the towel and stain the sheet. Reflecting on how profoundly this moment had marked the both of them, helped them, healed them; if a mark were to be left on the sheet too, well, that would be okay. This wouldn't be an unhappy thing to think about when he was doing his laundry.

They lay together for a spell, embracing the companionable silence. "I'm so glad we did this." Josh heard himself whisper.

"Me too," Aidan murmured. He waited a couple of seconds for comedic effect. "You know that now we are gonna have to try extra hard in round three, because that's gonna be HARD TO BEAT!"

That statement had the intended effect on his roommate, that reaction that was so perfectly Josh. First, that pause for resistance, then the appearance of the begrudging smile, then laughter.


	17. RoRChapter16

"Times new roman, you know the type.  
Calling me public enemy, but don't believe the hype."  
-Right Turn Clyde, Hooray for Boobies. The Bloodhound Gang.

Reciprocity of Ratiocination.

Chapter 16: The Truth Is Somewhere IN THERE.

Aidan was sitting at the kitchen table when Josh went down for breakfast. Two days before the full moon. Josh was starting to really feel the wolf now. He had woken up feeling like nothing would be better than to call in and use Aidan as a plaything all day. Oh, the things they could do to each other!

They exchanged short greetings as Josh passed him on the way to the coffee machine. His hot coffee safely in the mug, Josh turned to look at his roommate. Aidan was engrossed in his reading, one hand on his book, one hand on his mug of blood, wearing a dark blazer over a white shirt. The lines of the jacket fell nicely over his broad shoulders; the collar of the shirt floated perfectly straight above the collar of the blazer. Josh could tell Aidan had spent a little time on his hair. It was all very polished and symmetrical looking. Josh was surprised by the thought that was ringing loudly through his mind: _Oh, no, he's not leaving this house dressed like THAT without my scent on him!_ Josh had this strong urge to put down his coffee and slide into the vampire's lap, running his fingers through that short black hair while licking at his neck, rubbing his own scent into Aidan's clothes, hair, and skin. It caught him off guard, this possessiveness.

Josh knew it would be unkind to actually do it. Aidan usually took a short shower when he got home and a long shower before leaving in clean clothes. He was doing all he could to minimize Josh's scent on his skin because he was around other vampires all day. The best he could do was to wash off what he could, and hope he could pass off the rest as simply what was transferred onto him by living in a werewolf's den. Josh wished he and Aidan had gotten involved before this, when Aidan worked only at the hospital, never saw vampires, and could have Josh's scent on him all day. The idea of just kissing Aidan flitted through his mind, touching no part of the other man but his lips, but no, because there was blood in that cup. Human blood. And it occurred to Josh for the first time that the stolen blood might not be the post-screened ready-for-patients blood, but bags from the reject pile that had been marked for incineration, to help Aidan fly under the radar. What did Aidan care if the blood was infectious to the living? It was all food to him! He had never seen any markings or stickers to make him think that was the case, but the thought did help Josh extricate himself from the sudden need for contact. The possessiveness was still there.

Although Josh had certainly received a good amount of semen samples from his friend in the past two weeks, he hadn't put any of it under the microscope. He was willing to bet, however, that there wouldn't be any spermatozoa. If he was right, that meant that the only living sperm in Aidan's body right now was put there by Josh. Mutant wolf baby sperm was banging around the inside of Aidan's body, searching in vain to impregnate him. That would have to be enough for Josh today.

Aidan sensed he was being watched, and turned towards the werewolf with a softly concerned expression. "You okay?"

"Yeah, fine." Josh answered offhandedly, heading for a chair on Aidan's right and sitting down. Frustration and anger were no strangers to him, but there was no need to take it out on his friends. It irked him though, that the man who put himself at Josh's sexual convenience is already untouchable the day he wakes up horny enough to screw him into the mattress All Damn Day! So not fair!

Aidan sees the perturbance in his friend's eyes, and lets go of his mug to bring his hand up to cup Josh's neck, thumb stroking Josh's newly shaved cheek. The werewolf's eyes meet his, and soften a little. The vampire gets up briefly to give the werewolf a sweet little kiss on the same spot where his thumb had been. The thumb returns to rub in the kiss. Josh smiles. Aidan wants him, too. But they are grown men, and that means that they have to cowboy up and get their butts to work. Josh clinked his coffee mug against Aidan's and tossed him a wink. Off to work they go!

Wanting to stay fresh, Aidan opted to drive to Sapp and Sons. Despite the many meetings and details that needed his attention today, the situation at home also required some thought and reflection.

Do not drink from werewolves. It was an admonition given to all vampire initiates. Werewolves were filthy smelly animals no better than vermin, who must be kept in their place by those who could see them for what they were. Werewolves were not human. Humans had heartbeats that called out to vampires like a siren song and an enticing scent, a rich undertone that promised a delicious meal. Werewolves had neither of these. Werewolves smelled a bit like dogs, but even dogs smelled edible. In a pinch, vampires could live off of the blood of animals, even canines. If the smell that was on werewolves didn't stop a vampire from drinking, and the smell that WASN'T there didn't stop them, there was that warning that had been echoed down from time immemorial; before the discovery of blood typing and the chemical properties had been identified in venoms and poisons: Do not drink from werewolves. No vampire knew what the exact consequence was, no vampire had seen it with their own eyes as far is Aidan knew, not even the Dutch. Aidan had seen vampires sentenced to die by wolves, but never by drinking the wolf's blood. Did that mean that it wasn't lethal, or just that they didn't know and didn't trust it to be lethal? Maybe it was like a hit of PCP that would leave the vampire dead when it wore off. Maybe it would make your body explode, or just maybe bad gas? Maybe it was a red herring, or some fallout from a long ago biological counterstrike additive, like garlic or juniper. He just didn't know.

He had told Josh none of this. To a guy who believed he could step back through the looking glass and become human again, the news would be heartbreaking. It would smash Josh's only dream. Aidan couldn't do that to his friend.

Diminished as it was, Aidan had developed quite a connoisseur's appreciation for Josh's heartbeat. His normal hearing was quite excellent, and he could hear Josh's heartbeat like the ticking of a watch. It was the metronome of their lives together in that house. But the feel of it, the experience of it when they were coupling was entirely unique. It didn't make his entire body pulse with need as a human's would, rather it was like a… tickle. It was like a silent pulse that was evidenced by the vibrations it sent throughout his body.

Josh wasn't the ripe and succulent fruit that humans were to him, he was rather like a flower. Not the shivering and fragile bloom of an annual plant, rather the hearty, hirsute, pithy, and pungent perennial. Josh was like a geranium: usually smelled before seen but quite colorful if one stopped to appreciate it. And Aidan had been doing quite a lot of appreciating lately.

Josh's voice drifted through his mind. "You know, if you need more, I'll give it…"

Sooner or later, it was inevitable that the vampire's lover would offer themselves as a donor. It was natural for someone to want to know their lover in every way, to share their most intimate life force with someone who could possibly live forever. It was sweet, misguided, and dangerous. "You get to find out what it is about sex with vampires that have had the literati raving for over 100 years." Had Sally's big mouth put that idea in Josh's mind? Had he simply gotten swept up in the moment, or had he been expecting it all along?

Aidan had bitten Josh the first two times they had sex. The first time, Aidan had done it solely to repulse Bishop. Josh hadn't objected. Of course he was under Aidan's influence, but Josh hadn't even seemed surprised. In fact, he had surprised Aidan by licking it off of his face and then kissing him. There was enough blood on Josh's tongue to tell him that Josh's blood tasted different. For a short time he could have sworn he had a faint buzzy feeling. That could point to Josh's blood having some sort of hemotoxic properties when in contact with his blood. But Aidan had been very distracted that night. There was a lot going on, and that buzzy feeling could have been stress or purely a figment of his imagination; a hysterical "symptom" of exposure to the wolf's blood.

Aidan thought back to when he had called on Josh at the hospital after talking with the Dutch. He went home and drank his dinner. He had even tried drinking a second glass to comfort himself, but bagged blood was too stale to provide him any real solace. He was feeling frustrated and vulnerable; all he wanted was to crush soft skin tight to him and drink and drink and drink. He called Josh. Just as Josh had promised, he had been right on board with a plan. There he had been, in a heliport hallway balls deep in his best friend and just wanting so badly to get off. It's not that he needed to bite to climax; he had just wanted so badly to sink his teeth into flesh, to feel a heartbeat pulsing around his fangs, and he had the feeling Josh would let him get away with it. He wouldn't drink, and if Josh were mad, Aidan would make it up to him later. So he bit into Josh, into the muscle away from the blood vessels. He left his fangs in instead of pulling them out to let the blood flow out of the wounds. A couple of drops seeped up around his fangs. He wiped off what blood he could with his lips, but there was some left in his mouth. He debated spitting it out, but defiantly, he had opted to swallow it. If it killed him so be it… Screw the Dutch! He felt no ill effects, but it had been a miniscule amount diluted with his own saliva and the blood he had drunk right before.

He was definitely taking liberties with his friend. But when Josh put the moves on him later that day, and they decided they were going to be getting busy on a regular basis, Aidan decided the safe route was to keep his fangs to himself.

The fact that Josh's blood was off limits was one of the very reasons Aidan had been so willing to move in with him in the first place. A wolf wouldn't endanger his sobriety. That, and that shacking up with a man whose race his family disapproved of was a nice little secret "up yours" directed at his maker. His sleeping with Josh was flirting was self-destruction as much as it was when humans got involved with his kind.

And thus, the dilemma: Move in with the werewolf so as not to be tempted to drink from him, only to get involved with him anyway and now have to figure out how he could drink from him. Aidan didn't really want to die.

There was an informal mixer tonight, a get-to-know-you / strategy-think-tank sort of meeting. After that, he was supposed to meet the new donors to see how they were settling in. Maybe he would do more than just meet them. Maybe drink just short of getting tipsy, then come home to Josh, Aidan mused. It seemed a little cowardly to not actually drink from Josh, since imbibing sustenance from the lover was part of the kink. But the cool thinking that night in the cage still applied now. Aidan letting Josh kill him wasn't being a good friend to Josh.

But maybe Josh was just offering to make Aidan happy? After all, the werewolf's reaction to Rebecca's vampire porno had not been positive: "Oh my god. She's eating his face! She's eating his face!"

"They get off on this, don't they?"

"Do you?"

If Aidan's denial had been on the money, he wouldn't have kept the disk. Josh was smart enough to know that. And despite the werewolf's uptight exterior, there wasn't a single thing Josh had flat out refused to do in bed. It seemed to Aidan, that if there was anything Josh wanted to try when they were together, Josh went for it. If Aidan didn't do this, would Josh always wonder what it's like? Does Josh think Aidan is the prudish one that is playing hard to get?

In the house where they were supposed to be the best most decent human version of themselves, going full on vampire sex was the final step in the two of them going completely native. But how could Aidan not? He and Josh had been through so much together, he wanted Josh to know him fully. To have this experience was the perfect way to say goodbye to this chapter in their lives, and go back to their nearly human lifestyle with Sally in their home. This time was different, special. This time, Aidan was the one wanting it, and it was Aidan who was the one in mortal danger.


	18. RoRChapter17

"I struck gold but never took it for granted.  
That's how I planned it, so can it!  
Around the planet,  
Fans demand it,  
And you'll never understand it!"  
- The Inevitable Return of the Great White Dope, Hooray for Boobies. The Bloodhound Gang

The Reciprocity of Ratiocination.

Chapter 17: The Last Order of Business.

Josh opened his eyes, awakening to sunshine in his bedroom. Today was the day. The last day. Tonight was the big meet-and-greet: the first official coming together of the new Boston family. Not everyone was here yet, of course. They did have to stagger this out a little, and not have an entire community glut the city on a red letter day that would be an instant tip off should the network be discovered by the uninitiated.

Last night Josh had come home, eaten dinner, played chess with Sally, showered and gone to bed. Aidan had been out all evening, helping the newbies settle in, and getting to know them personally. Josh had known he hadn't been asleep for very long when he felt his bed dip. It could only be Aidan, Sally would have sent up an alarm if there had been an intruder, and she didn't bother to move the furniture underneath her when she sat down. Two days out from the full moon, Josh's sense of smell was keen. Although Aidan had already removed the clothing from his upper body, he smelled strongly of cigarette smoke, and a pleasingly mellow miasma of several different perfumes and colognes, alcohol, and night air. Aidan had been in the thick of people all evening. It hadn't taken a lot of imagination for Josh to imagine that Aidan had been in the center of it all, mingling and rubbing elbows and shaking hands. The toast of Boston had come home… to Josh's bed.

Josh's eyes had found Aidan's in the moonlight. Aidan had given him a sort of tired smile, pulling down the bed covers and slipping his hand underneath Josh's t-shirt. Quietly, Josh had taken off his shirt, and while he removed his pajama bottoms, Aidan replaced his pillows with a moisture blocking pad like they used at the hospital. He said nothing, just gave Josh a steady reassuring smile as he also had stepped out of his pants. Naked, Aidan had joined Josh on the bed, straddling him, drizzling lubricant on Josh's abdomen from a small bottle in his hand. Josh had jumped slightly at the temperature of the liquid, it was colder than he had been expecting. Josh was nervous, and he knew he had let himself get more miffed than he should have been for a guy who was about to get laid. He was still half asleep and knew Aidan would warm him back up.

Dropping the little bottle on the nightstand, Aidan tugged the blankets back up over them both as he lay on top of Josh, still straddling his hips. Aidan's hands found Josh's. Palm to palm, Aidan had intertwined their fingers on both hands, planted his elbows alongside Josh's, pinning Josh's arms down and to the bed. Practically nose to nose and looking into Josh's eyes, Aidan rolled his hips, the lubricant spreading, coating both of them. Aidan repeated the motion, setting a slow rhythm that had coaxed Josh's sex to full hardness, sandwiched between their bodies. When Josh's breathing had quickened, Aidan let his eyes go black and his fangs come out. There was no objection from Josh. No protest or resistance as he nestled his face in Josh's neck caressing the tender, living skin with his fangs. Josh stretched his neck, and offered himself to the vampire. Josh felt Aidan's fangs slip into his skin.

Josh really had to hand it to Ray: he had been absolutely right when he had told Josh that sex at this time of the month was amazing. It was an incredible feeling, almost overwhelmingly arousing, and his whole body was alive and singing under Aidan's skin, his vampire friend smelling almost human to his heightened senses. Aidan hadn't been hitting the artery; he was biting down with more pressure than was needed, enjoying the sensation of his fangs buried in skin, and then sucking hard at the puncture wounds he had made. It probably would have been painful, if it wasn't for the sweet, torturous friction of Aidan's hips moving against his own, Aidan's cock moving alongside his own. It turned the pain into something Josh couldn't get enough of, something he suddenly and fiercely craved: it was a scream bottled up inside of him, desperately wanting more, more, more.

It was all Josh could do, to allow himself to be held down, knowing his strength had to at least rival the vampire's at that moment. He had felt Aidan bite him again, in a slightly different spot, and suck hard, felt the blood tickling and trickling as it flowed down his neck and on to the pad below before Aidan released him and then repeated the action. His neck was being tattooed with a chain of fang holes. And all the while: that friction, that electrical current of pleasure flowing through every cell of his body. By the time Aidan switched to the other side of his neck Josh was trembling, alternately growling and whimpering with pleasure. Josh was pretty sure the only thing that had been successfully holding him down at that point was Aidan's will. So close to the moon they both had remarkable staying power, and Aidan had used that to his full advantage. He had let the pressure build as slowly as he could manage. He did his work on Josh's neck, letting his mouth fill with the odd tasting blood, then spitting it out to pool on the pad. Josh was growling steadily, then, finally, finally his orgasm began to crash over him like a tidal wave. Dimly, Josh was aware that Aidan was right there with him, coming against him, Aidan's mouth open on his neck; he had hit the artery that time.

Josh cast his mind back. He seemed to remember being awake for at least a few seconds after that. He remembered Aidan settling against his side, the vampire had his fingers pressed against Josh's neck, thumb stroking the perpetual stubble on his cheek, both of them looking into each other's eyes and luxuriating in the afterglow. But after that... he was drawing a blank. Had he dropped back off to sleep that quickly? Weird! Josh swept his hand over his abdomen, finding it clean and dry. He ran his fingers through the hair at the nape of his neck. The hair there was a little stiff, but there was no blood matted there. He smiled as he realized Aidan must have cleaned him up after letting him drift back to sleep. One of the benefits of schtupping a nurse, he supposed: first-rate sponge baths.

The entire night, the men had not exchanged a single word, or kiss. Yet it had been intensely erotic. It had been... memorable.

Josh rolled out of bed to start his day. He had to get ready for work. His neck felt like it had been used as a pin cushion, but the rest of his body felt fantastic. Normally, he would get a little irritable near the full moon, but this feeling is something he could get used to! His facial expression turned quickly from relaxed, to shocked and dismayed as he caught his reflection in the bathroom mirror. There was a column of bruises and hickies standing out on his pale skin on both sides of his neck in blue, red, and yellow. What was the real shock was that the marks would be twice as bad if he wasn't a werewolf nearing the moon. He had already healed about halfway, and they would be healed long before the end of the day, surely, perhaps even by lunch, but it looked like he was going to have to wear a turtleneck to work, or be the subject of intense speculation by his entertainment-starved coworkers. He just knew some smart-ass would call attention to it by asking him in a loud voice if he were sleeping with a vampire. Which of course, he was, but it was ungentlemanly to allow that reminder to reach Nora's ears.

Showered and dressed, Josh navigated the stairs quickly and efficiently to join Sally in the kitchen, the irresistible smell of coffee embracing him immediately. He sent her a chipper smile and a "good morning" as he passed her to grab a mug and some joe.

Her answering "good morning" sounded amused and speculative. He turned towards her as he reseated the coffee pot. Sally was looking him up and down. "Hmmm…" She said slowly. "A turtleneck today!"

"Yeah," Josh said, dismissing it with a shrug and small shake of his head, he pointed vaguely at his neck with his index finger, "Uh, Aidan was kinda…" amusement overtook him as he realized he had nowhere to go with this except an honest "amazing last night!"

They both broke into a short storm of laughter. Josh sat opposite her, their eyes shining as they took in one another's happy countenance.

"You've been having a lot of fun!"

Josh agreed heartily. "A lot more than I thought I would when I volunteered for this. It's been… quite an experience."

Sally raised her eyebrows, smiling at her roommate's buoyant, honest mood. "So... Have you had any more strange dreams?"

Josh made a hesitant sort of grimace. "Uh... yeah, a couple," he answered slowly.

Her smile broadened, and she paddled both of her hands towards her, as if she could waft the information to her in the air between them. "Spill! Lay it on me!"

"Okay..." Josh said, his eyes defocusing as he peered into the corners of his mind for the details of those little fictions his mind invented to amuse itself at night. "There was one where Aidan and I were in the same meadow as the first dream; but it was flooded in daylight, and we were alone. We were having this picnic under one of the trees on the edge, and where the police car had been parked; there was a brand new, early 1920's roadster. We were on a red checkered blanket, had a wicker basket; the whole nine yards! Aidan was sitting very close to me, facing me, wearing clothes from the same era as the car. We were just chatting and drinking wine, making small talk. And he was talking about progress and politics: everything he was saying was totally fitting for the time period. He kept moving closer to me, trying to kiss me," Josh admitted with a self-deprecating chuckle and a shake of his head. "But every time he tried, I would pull back. I wanted him," Josh clarified quickly, "but sodomy laws in the 1920's were nothing to fool with!

Sally nodded to show she was following the story, looking entertained. It just figured that her werewolf friend would be preoccupied with archaic, outdated laws while in the midst of a sex dream!

"I thought the car would be a safe subject to talk about while I vainly tried to resist his advances. I said something like: Beautiful car, is it new? And he answered that, yes, it was new, and then he told me how much he would like to try out the rumble seat!" As he said this, Josh was picturing it, Aidan and himself awkwardly tucked in to that hinged back seat. Last night had given him a vivid demonstration of what it was like to have a necking party with a vampire!

Sally laughed."Awwww, you were making him work so hard!"

"I was! Every time I pulled away, he topped off my wine glass. He was really trying to get me!" Josh let a moment pass while he thought. "I did finally let him kiss me, which felt really weird, because he had a mustache. But the really funny thing is: I was wearing a shirt with a very high starched collar. And the second I let him kiss me, he popped that top button on the collar. I woke up thinking about all the times when we were teenagers that I heard my parents warning my sister about how boys only wanted one thing."

"I bet that warning went in one ear and out the other!" Sally said brightly.

"Yeah, I think you'd win that bet! But I guess the same thing is true about vampires. It was a strange dream, because Aidan is so present and modern, I guess I never really thought about what he was like all those years he was running around with his vampire family. He was still the same Aidan, still a present and modern man in the 1920's." He motioned to himself. "Being a werewolf, I know firsthand that stories and myths are more likely to be fiction than fact, but that's the one thing that the vampire stories always get wrong. In the stories, the vampire's tell is that he is outrageously old fashioned. But in reality they evolve with the times, always blending in. They are unfailingly modern. I guess those stories are just to make us feel safer in the world, to think there will always be a sign that will warn us of danger."

Sally tried to see Aidan as he had appeared in the dream. "It's hard to imagine Aidan with a big old mustache," she said screwing up her face. But she had all day in an empty house to think about that! She drummed the table. "Okay, tell me another dream!"

"Uh, I had one other one. But we weren't in it. It started with my mother in her kitchen, arranging flowers. There was a knock at the front door, and when she answers it, Bishop is standing on her porch, full cop uniform and pad in hand. He goes:" Josh adopted a slower, deeper authoritative voice, "Ma'am it has come to our attention you had a vampire incursion at this residence a few weeks ago. Are you aware, ma'am that this vampire you let into your home… is currently nailing your son?"

Sally gave an exaggerated gasp.

Josh gave a chuckle. "Yeah, well, that's the whole thing. I jumped awake at that point." Josh shook his head. "Oh. God, if I had had that dream while Bishop was still alive, I would have been seriously freaked out for days!" Josh shook his head again. "But, it's not like my mother would care! I mean, it's just the... exposure... I like my privacy!" Josh's discomfort at the idea shivered up his spine. His mother really wouldn't have cared, of course, not after making it clear she had assumed he and Aidan were lovers when Aidan was in her home. He remembered being both irritated and disappointed in his friend when Aidan had gone out of his way to lie to her, complementing her on the flavor of chicken he could not taste. Instant karma is a bitch, though. Not two minutes later, Aidan came down with a bad case of garlic poisoning from said "delicious" chicken.

Sally's demeanor sobered slightly. "Will you be able to give him up? Go back to the way the two of you were?"

Josh accepted the question, quieting briefly to consider the answer. After a hesitation, he responded with conviction. "Yes," he said. "I'm glad we did it… I… think I learned a lot about both of us." The werewolf gave a small sigh, his gaze dropping to linger on the reflective surface of his coffee. "It's only been this fun because it was a straightforward deal. No strings, no expectations, no complications. Anything more… like trying to have a real relationship… just the thought of it is completely overwhelming. Ugh… no! All you have to do is watch how the party goes tonight to know it would never work!"

Sally raised her eyebrows. "You're nervous about tonight?"

Josh sent her a horrified look. "Oh, God, yes! Vampires are notoriously racist! You have it so much easier than me, Sally! You don't have to decide what to wear, you don't reek like an unwashed animal to them, they can't hurt you, and if they do make a move... you can just disappear!"

"Hey! They don't particularly like ghosts, either! Remember? When they kidnapped you, and I was looking for you, they tried to dissipate me with a red hot poker? But, yeah, I can see your point. I'm sure it'll be fine. We're just gonna be there for the mixer, we don't have to stay for the meeting. Okay, they don't want us at the meeting, but I'm sure Aidan's right, and that it's better this way: with them seeing you now, and meeting you, not finding you on the street and thinking that it's time for a good, old-fashioned werewolf smack-down."

Josh gave a nod and a half-shrug.

"At least you don't have to go alone! I'll be with you the whole time, and if anyone tries to mess with you, I will totally go poltergeist on their bloodsucker butts!"

She was rewarded by a chuckle from Josh. "My champion!"

"Damn straight! Now, the plan for today is that Aidan and I are going to meet you for lunch. We'll drop off your suit, and we will be back after your shift to pick you up, ready to party."

Josh toasted her with his coffee mug. "Sounds like a good plan!"


	19. RoRChapter18

"Dealt nothing and bluffing hard  
Playing poker with a joker and some Uno cards"  
- Magna Cum Nada, Hooray for Boobies. The Bloodhound Gang.

Reciprocity of Ratiocination.

Chapter 18: A Little Living Hell of Her Very Own.

Either Josh didn't tell her everything, or Nora Sergeant was going mad. She stood at the window of the third floor, looking down into the courtyard where Josh and Aidan were sitting on their usual bench.

It was still too much for her, all of this. Too much to think about, too many circular thoughts running through her head: Just the same thoughts endlessly repeating, round and round, no resolution, no answers, no end.

First, there was what was going on between Josh and Aidan. As far as her relationship with Josh, it couldn't have happened at a worse time. She thought once she knew about Josh's "big secret" then there wouldn't need to be any more distance between the two of them. Pfft! Wrong! He goes and gets a case of Jungle-Fever-on-the-Down-Low and it's: step aside, Nora… you don't mind, do you? All the little tiffs they had because he wasn't putting out, him making the excuse he wanted less emotional investment and less intensity with her and then he willingly spreads his legs for his "best friend." Kinda hard not to feel the knife twisting just a little bit, there. They were sitting on opposite ends of the bench. It was funny; they used to sit closer to each other before they started screwing. Hmph. They doth protest too much!

A couple of days ago Nora had needed to text some test results to a patient of hers, only to find her phone died sometime that morning. Josh was nearby and gallantly offered his phone. She used her phone's shortcut to the text function, but on Josh's phone it was the calendar, the day of the full moon was highlighted. She backed out and went to the phone's menu, and the pictures folder didn't have a folder icon, but a thumbnail of the last photo that had been saved to memory. Surely the picture was too small for her to be seeing it correctly! With Josh studiously mopping several feet away, she tabbed to the photo folder and opened the last picture. She had seen it correctly. She recognized the setting: It was Josh's kitchen; she had eaten there on her first date with Josh. Josh was standing with his back to the sink, resting with his palms planted behind him on the countertop. Standing in front of Josh, his hands cupping Josh's face as they kissed full on the mouth, was Aidan. You don't carry photos like that on your phone when it's a favor you really didn't want to do for a friend.

Yeah... okay, she was angry and hurt, and it wasn't helping her state of mind any. If Josh had been one hundred percent truthful with her, then he was the only glue holding the city together. He was saving lives. But that picture would indicate that he wasn't being one hundred percent honest with her. Worse, that had been the very spot of their first kiss. She could almost believe it was purposefully taken to show her Josh didn't need her. Josh was cute, and when they were together he seemed perfectly sincere in his interest and pursuit of her. She still felt the two of them deserved a chance, that they could be great together if only they could get past all this minutia and just CONNECT. But the sad fact was there were so many times in their relationship when she had to remind herself that she was strong, and could make it on her own if she had to.

Nora's eyes drifted into the trees, naked for the winter, but gently swaying in the light wind.

Then there was the fact that there was both a werewolf and a vampire in her midst. That was a little bonkers when you thought about it. What were the odds? What else is working here? Was Suffolk County General some sort of nexus for the supernatural? Were these halls populated with interdimensional walk-ins and witches? She could only guess.

One thing she did know was here: The Grey Lady. Apparently no one else could see this lady, though at times, Josh did seem peripherally aware of her. She had long curly black hair, a dusky complexion, and she was always wearing the same clothing: dark grey leggings with matching shoes, a light grey cotton shirt, and a grey, scalloped edged cable knit sweater with a button on the left shoulder. The first time Nora saw the woman she was talking to Josh, animatedly gesturing and stamping her foot. Well, talking at Josh was more like it because Josh wasn't paying her any attention, just glancing around him as he mopped. Nora thought it might be someone frustrated at the care given to a patient, ranting at the first person they found in the hallway. But Josh had simply looked up at her, and gave her a little smile and wave, as if he were not under emotional attack. Nora saw her again in the cafeteria two days later. The woman was sitting across from Josh as he ate. She was doing all the talking when someone walked up behind her, said a quick word to Josh, and then took the chair she was sitting on right out from under her! The woman jumped up as her chair was stolen, and glared at the chair thief for a moment before turning her attention back to Josh, and somehow managing to half hop up onto the flimsy tabletop without tipping the table over. Nora turned to one of the other nurses she was lunching with and tried to sound casual as she asked, "Who is that woman who is talking to Josh?"

Her friend looked over at Josh's table. "I don't know... I must have missed her. There's no one there now!"

Nora's eyes snapped back over to Josh, and the Grey Lady was still there, and it was Josh's turn to talk. But as he spoke, he looked around, and seeing Nora watching him, he had waved a little greeting, and self-consciously indicated he was talking on the phone using the blue-tooth in his ear. He was on the phone... not talking to Her.

Later she had caught sight of the woman walking down the corridor towards her. Nora had kept her head down, not wanting to look as though she were watching this woman, and as the lady passed behind her, she said clear as day in a bored, wistful tone, "Hi Nora. I still wish I had your boobs!"

Nora gasped and jumped as a cold electric jolt shot up her spine. She spun around to confront the woman, but she wasn't there. Nora's heart was beating hard and fast, she could feel it jerking and fluttering inside of her chest. Her eyes were stinging with fear, and the grey woman was gone, just like that. What the hell?

Presently, Nora heaved a sigh. She looked back down at the couple... no... It was a threesome now. The grey lady was down there now too, sitting between the two men. Or, maybe she had been there the whole time, except this time, Josh and Aidan were both looking right at her. While Nora watched, the woman put her hand on Josh's arm while she talked. Then she leaned forward, and kissed Josh on the lips before both of them burst into loud laughter. From up on the third floor, through the window Nora could hear their merriment, sounding ethereal and far away. Josh turned to Aidan and spoke, then spoke to the woman. Aidan and the grey lady looked at each other skeptically. Josh spoke again this time to the both of them, making a pushing gesture with the back of his fingers: Go on, go on! Emboldened, the woman turned and kissed Aidan this time, and then all three of them broke into more laughter.

What? Thought Nora. They're sharing women now? She shook her head, turning away from the window. She and Josh would have to have a long talk, clear all this up before any type of relationship would be possible. But Josh or no Josh, the full moon was coming tomorrow. Soon, this hell that Nora was trapped inside of would be over.

The three scratches on her forearm were not healed, but then, she couldn't reasonably expect them to be. Every morning, Nora would get up, and tell herself that she had to have faith that everything happened for a reason. She had gone along with having unprotected sex with Josh in the break room, and kept the baby so the baby could save her now. She had lost the baby because the baby had been a werewolf that had died while transforming inside her womb. Their baby would protect her; surely carrying a werewolf inside of her provided some immunity to the scratches on her arm. Her baby had survived just long enough to save her, she told herself, and she would be okay. And then Nora would go about her day, throwing herself into her job with zeal. But at night, when those wee hours pooled in the shadows of her empty apartment, a creeping terror would grip her. And she would be seized by a chilling certainty, a KNOWING, that she had lost her innocent baby because she had failed to protect them, she had gotten scratched and because she was no longer human, her body had rejected the baby immediately: she had gotten her child killed and herself infected! She felt such a crushing guilt at fucking up this badly; she was so sorry, so very, very sorry!

And up Nora would be, in the bathroom, despite the fact she knew it was too late, she knew it was futile, but it was all she could do, the fear fuelling her wracking sobs and frantic scrubbing with scalding hot water and anything else she could find: mouthwash, toothpaste, hand soap, shampoo... One night, even bleach.

She had gotten a tetanus shot. She had taken a round of antibiotics. Nothing felt certain to save her; cure her. She was just plain scared, and exactly as it was with the baby, she was looking at facing it alone. She didn't feel she could count on Josh.

Tomorrow night, either way... it would be over. She would know one way or another, and she would deal with it. She was strong. Or, at least, she would have to be.


	20. RoRChapter19

"Crucified and all I got was this lousy T-shirt!"  
-Hell Yeah, Hooray for Boobies. The Bloodhound Gang.

The Reciprocity of Ratiocination.

Chapter 19: It was a Lovely Party… Really!

Freshly showered using his own brand of soap, Josh looked sharp in his new outfit. The suit came with a blazer but neither he nor Aidan would be wearing them. Instead, they would be going for a more streamlined retro look by wearing just the vests instead. Josh was relieved at not having to wear the jacket; he had a tendency to sweat when he was nervous. He knew that all the vampires would smell his wolf's scent anyway, even just after bathing, but reeking of wolf sweat wasn't exactly a confidence booster.

He found Aidan and Sally waiting for him by the door. Aidan was also looking quite polished and spiffy, wearing a darker colored shirt and vest. Sally, of course, looked the same as she always did. Aidan helped Josh into his camel hair overcoat, and they walked out through the snow to Aidan's old car.

"Are you ready for this?" Aidan asked, once they were seated inside the vehicle.

"I don't think I would ever feel ready for this!" Josh answered.

"Okay," Aidan said charitably, "how about a few guidelines?"

"Okay..." Josh responded cautiously.

From the backseat, Sally saw her chance. "Rule one, Josh, when you're nervous you try to greet people using a funny voice. This never works for you. It always falls flat. You are not going to win these people over; they are vampires who only want to be friends with other vampires. So don't make a fool of yourself trying!"

"Quiet and understated is definitely the way to play it!" Aidan agreed firmly, sending her a look to cut off Sally's character attack on the werewolf. "You know, be polite. Make small talk with them if they want, otherwise, just keep your distance, behave yourself, and stay in the background." He glanced over at Josh, who gave him a small nod.

"Next point," the older man continued patiently, "I'm going to have you served a glass of wine, but only have ONE. You can sip from it, but it's just for show. Getting tipsy and losing control of yourself while you are in there is a very bad idea. We are just talking about a short meet and greet here, and when the meeting starts, you and Sally quietly make your exit, and come back home."

Josh exhaled loudly in an attempt to calm his nerves.

"Sally, I need you to remember that everyone in the room can see and hear you. So stick close to Josh, and you behave yourself, too!"

Sally was confident. "Got it."

After a short drive they arrived at the venue, The Halloway Hotel, which was housed in an ancient building downtown. Josh was relieved the meeting wasn't at Sapp and Sons. He felt better being on neutral ground. They checked their coats at the cloakroom and made their way to the large and beautifully appointed ballroom. There was a hosted bar set up for their group near the door, a podium and padded folding chairs set up at the far end for the meeting, and a smattering of fainting couches and armchairs grouped with padded benches for the informal introductions scheduled to precede the meeting. There were about forty people populating the couches and benches in the room already immersed in conversation.

Aidan took them to the bar straightaway. "I'll have three fingers of bourbon and a white wine for my friend," he told the bartender. She nodded, poured the drinks generously and presented them to Aidan, telling him she would be there if they needed anything further, and then stepped back with her hands clasped behind her. Aidan thanked her, picked up his drink, and signaled to Josh that he should take his drink and follow. Josh noticed there was no tip jar on the bar.

Aidan lead him to a man dressed in full police regalia standing at a high table equipped with bar stools. The man was Caucasian, and large framed, both tall and broad. He smelled of oiled leather and aftershave. Beside him on the table was a half a glass of beer.

"Sally, Josh, this is The Deputy. Deputy, these are my roommates Sally Malik and Josh Levison."

The Deputy gave a nod of acknowledgement to Sally. "Ma'am." Remarkably, to Josh, the vampire put out his hand. "Josh."

Josh quickly switched his untouched wine to his left hand and took the Deputy's right hand in a firm handshake. "Deputy! It's nice to meet you," Josh said decorously, meeting his eyes. The deputy's nametag glinted in the light, catching Josh's attention. It read Deputy Jay Parker. When the handshake ended, Josh realized it may not have been the magnanimous gesture it seemed to be. Maybe The Deputy was just checking to see if Josh was trained well enough to know how to shake paws.

A vampire across the room called out Aidan's name, gesturing for him to come over. "Uh, wait here, I'll be right back." As Aidan glided away, Josh fought the urge to call him back to protect him from having to either make small talk on his own, or endure the awkward silence. Behind him, Josh caught sight of Sally slouching back against the table, leaning on her elbows as she surveyed the room, people watching.

"So Josh, how long have you lived here in the Boston Area?"

As Josh heard the Deputy speak a full sentence, he felt an odd, surreal feeling go through him. He had been fully expecting the Deputy to speak with a strong southern accent. Though the cadence of his words was a little different, The Deputy had no discernible accent whatsoever. Josh thought back to the conversations he and Aidan had about the man standing in front of him now. Josh thought he remembered Aidan telling him The Deputy was from "the South," but had never specifically mentioned The Deputy having an accent. Maybe Josh had watched too many reruns of the Dukes of Hazard and Cannonball Run. "Oh, I went to college here, and then I moved back to stay about two years ago." There was no point in lying. Josh was certain that the man had already run a full background check on him. Hell, he had probably looked up the accident photos of Sally's body lying in the stairwell.

It suddenly struck Josh how odd the accent thing was. He was from New York, a state known for its distinctive accent. Granted, Ithaca wasn't exactly The Bronx, but he had no trace of an East Coast accent, nor did his sister or either of their parents. Aidan had been kicking around Boston, a city as famous for its local dialect as it was for its history for better than a hundred years or so, and he had not the slightest lilt to his voice. Bishop also hadn't had one. Now that Josh thought of it, he didn't work with anyone at the hospital that had a local accent either. He could not call to mind a single patient, supermarket checkout worker, or homeless person asking for change that had a local dialect. A strong feeling that his world wasn't real came over him suddenly, like everything in the room had been stolen and replaced with an exact replica, including the people. He had to stop this. He had to get himself under control or he was going to flip out right here. Surely he knew one person with an accent? Just one? Celine popped in to his head. Josh knew there was a good portion of Canada that spoke French exclusively, but why is the only person he can think of with an accent a Canadian with a French accent, and not a regular Canadian one? He knew he was blowing this way out of proportion, and being silly, but at this moment thinking of the issue as a whole, it just didn't feel logical.

Josh cleared his throat, and took his first sip of wine. The full-bouqueted flavor of the wine surprised him. It was of excellent making. Wonderful, even. See there? The wine was good. The world is real! He gave a little laugh, surprised and relieved, and smiled up at the policeman.

"Tell me," The Deputy asked him slowly, "what would you think of the idea of Boston becoming a… safe haven city for werewolves?"

"Uh, wull- well," Josh stammered, worrying about saying the saying the wrong thing. He didn't want to give the impression that he was a troublemaker that wanted to put together a pack, but he didn't want to shoot himself in the foot, either. "I uh… I live here, and I would appreciate being free to live my own life unimpeded, but," he took a breath, trying to be diplomatic, "asking wolves who wouldn't normally be here to congregate in Boston sounds like trouble this city just doesn't need right now." Josh hoped it was the right answer. At least it was honest.

The Deputy mulled the answer over. It was the right one. The kid was reasonable, just like Aidan had described him. Josh wasn't the first wolf he had met. Nearly a hundred years ago, it fell to him to keep his family's wolf, since he was a prison guard at the time and was habituated to caring for the human prisoners. There may have also been a drunken bet lost to blame for his sole responsibility of the task. Regardless, he treated the wolf just as he did all his other prisoners: three square meals a day, regular opportunities for exercise, and rewards given to focus him.

The werewolf he had kept back in those days was larger than the werewolf in front of him now. The bigger the man, the bigger the wolf, but even the smallest one he had seen was scrappy and not to be trifled with. Back then, it was in vogue to pit werewolves against exotic animals like lions, tigers, cougars, panthers and bears. Sometimes they had even settled for undomesticated beasts of burden like llamas and wild horses, or whatever type of animal the family thought would be fun to see either torn to little bits, or would go down putting up an entertaining fight. For all his long life he would never forget how that chipmunk had kept their wolf running around like crazy for a little over an hour before it was finally caught, shaken, and swallowed whole.

The ballroom of The Halloway Hotel had an air exchange system. There was a slight movement of air in a single direction. The policeman had situated himself to be downwind from the natural position one would assume to talk with him. He was purposely letting the wolf's scent get on his clothes as a signal to the others that the wolf in their midst was being tolerated and watched. But he was also hoping a good whiff of the creature would yield information not supplied by the criminal background and credit checks.

The day of a turn, The Deputy would always set up the movie projector and together, he and their wolf would watch a movie featuring the wolf's favorite film star, a prolific and pretty actress by the name of Lillian Gish. The werewolf was enraptured by those films. They were nothing more than silent shadows playing on the wall. But that werewolf would sit stalk still, with his hands wrapped around the bars of his cage, and his face pressed forward so he would see just the movie; as if there were no cage and he could swallow up that greyscale weightless world with his eyes. For years they did this; it was their ritual and the wolf's reward.

It had been the Deputy's job to care for that wolf every day: feed him, bathe him, provide him with female visitors to enjoy, and patch him up when he was injured in a fight. He knew that wolf's scent very well. He could have probably picked his own wolf out of a wild pack by scent alone. But he began to notice, in that basement room with the movie playing; his wolf's scent would change. It wasn't arousal, or longing, but when that actress' visage was on screen, the wolf's scent was subtly different. That dumb animal had fallen in love with a facsimile of a woman, nothing more than an intangible projection on a wall. But deep down, The Deputy suspected that their wolf BELONGED to the actress in a way she would never understand.

Presently, the policemen addressed Josh. "Now, your friend Aidan over there," he pointed to Aidan across the room, drawing the wolf's attention to his keeper. He kept his own eyes on Aidan, leaning forward, balancing with his elbow on the table to get closer to Josh. The young werewolf responded to his body language in the most polite, and intended, manner; he dropped his head slightly, and kept his eyes directed towards his friend. "He's very new to all of this, but he has done a wonderful job of putting your fine city's network back together again. He told me he had the support of his friends at home to thank." There it was. Below the smell of Aidan's scented products, Josh's scented products, and the slight electrical snap in the air that a ghost can sometimes give off, it was there; That subtle, indescribable change in scent. Aidan and his pet were definitely close. They both had way too much of the other's scent on them to rule out anything less than heavy petting, but he was confident that the pooch knew who his master was, and that Aidan could keep him in line. This little doggie wouldn't be a problem.

The policemen stood at his full height, looking at the wolf again. Josh also straightened, reestablishing eye contact. "Well, I hope we can count on your cooperation in the future," The Deputy said genially. "I had better go and mingle. In my position I have to know everyone personally. It was nice meeting you, Josh, Sally." He picked up his beer and moved off towards the vampires that had arrived while they were talking.

Josh turned around to face Sally. Sounding a little excited and relieved, he whispered, "One down!" and took an appreciative sip of wine.

She smiled at him, amused at his effusiveness, and taking another good look at the vampires in the room, murmured, "And fifty more to go!"

A newly arrived young woman wandered near them, scoping out the room and sizing up the crowd. By the looks of her she had been in her late teens or early twenties when she was made, but how much time had passed since then was impossible to tell. Her dark red hair hung in a cascade of perfect ringlets and matched well with her satin burgundy party dress. She caught sight of Josh and Sally, ran her eyes over them, and ended up making direct eye contact with Josh.

Josh successfully fought the urge to put on some affected dialect to greet her, instead, to his horror; he heard himself ask her in a chipper tone, "Hi! You're new in town? Where're you from?" Uck! He thought. That's as bad as talking about the weather!

The vampire lady caught his scent, Sally's lack of one, and the blooming beauty of youth radiating from her lovely face turned in to a mask of disgust. "Michigan," she answered him, in a cold, condescending tone. She shot them both an extra dirty look before walking away from them, back to her own kind.

Completely mortified, Josh stood frozen for a moment, and then took a deep breath to whisper, "Yeah, I think I'm ready to try that 'silent in the background' plan." Miserably, he took a good sized swallow of his wine.

"I didn't know that being a vampire from Michigan gave you the right to act so high and mighty!" Sally observed conversationally to Josh.

Josh shushed her. "Remember, they can hear you!"

"That doesn't mean I have to tolerate their rudeness!" Sally shot back. "That was completely uncalled for!"

The roommates stood together in companionable silence, watching vampires chat up other vampires. Perhaps it was Josh's heightened senses; he found he was catching every glance that landed on him. And in those scant seconds those vampire's eyes were focused on him, he could see the impatience, disapproval, and derision. They didn't like what he was. They didn't want him here. He wasn't welcome. This wasn't news, but Josh felt exposed and naked. With some of the looks he was getting, he was surprised they didn't have him standing on a plastic tarp for fear of filth and fleas. They all knew his secret; as if they could look right through his human guise to see the unclean animal hiding inside of him. The idea flitted through his mind that he had been double crossed by Aidan, and he was brought here as the ritual werewolf sacrifice for the newly formed vampire family. He dismissed the thought. He trusted Aidan. Hell, he had better to walk in to this place! Besides, if he were here to be sacrificed for the family, they would be glad he was here, and they were clearly unhappy to be subjected to his presence.

Aidan returned. "Hey. Uh, there's someone I want you to meet," he told them, gesturing them to follow him. He led them in to the crowd to a woman partially reclining on a fainting couch. There was a smattering of admiring vampires surrounding her. She was a classic statuesque beauty. Her blond hair was styled in a smart, playful cut that heightened her obvious and striking resemblance to Marilyn Monroe. But this woman was tall and lithe, like Téa Leoni. She had an easy laugh and she was teasingly flirting with the men surrounding her.

Aidan stepped in front of the woman to get her attention. "Kat, I would like you to meet my roommates, Sally and Josh."

The woman first looked at Sally giving her a friendly "Hi!" before beaming at Josh. "Hi, Josh! Call me Kat!" She offered Josh her hand, palm down.

He clasped her fingers briefly, giving her a small polite bow. Against his will, Josh found himself warmed by her exuberant charm and attention. Inwardly he groaned. Pretty women always gave him two left feet and one extra foot for his mouth.

"This is the business woman from Minsk I was telling you about," Aidan told him. "Kat has already taken over Sapp and Sons, and she came here for the challenge of strengthening and expanding the Boston Family's investment holdings."

Josh forced into his own mind the image of this soft, tender looking woman with her eyes black and fangs extended. THE BETTER TO EAT YOU WITH, MY DEAR he shouted in his head. She was probably making a show of being nice to Aidan's dog to ingratiate herself to Aidan, Josh thought, remembering the way the last vampire woman had looked at him. That did it. Josh was able to extricate and distance himself from her spell. She was as posh and extroverted as Josh had imagined from smelling her expensive perfume on Aidan. He guessed that 'Kat' was short for 'Ekaterina'. Her voice was exotic; she talked like Zsa Zsa Gabor. Josh refused to think about regional accents further, for fear of the feeling of unreality would grip him again. He just had to focus on saying as little as possible until he could get out of here. "It's nice to meet you," he told her politely, and with nothing more to say, immediately felt stuck. He didn't know what to do with himself. He was suddenly hyperaware of all the vampires standing around him. He could feel them watching him closely, and vampires were good at picking up micro expressions. If his thoughts were at all disapproving, dismissive, or disrespectful, it could spell disaster for him. Why had he agreed to this?

"Josh," Aidan said, his arm coming around him, "there are a few more people I'd like you to meet."

"Sure," Josh responded, glancing at his roommate and hoping that his voice sounded agreeable and amiable. "It was nice meeting you," he inwardly cringed at repeating himself. "Please excuse us," he said sweetly to Kat, hoping to make up his faux pas. She acknowledged him with a half nod and a gorgeous smile.

As soon as Aidan led him out of hearing distance of the others, he asked, "What was that?" in a pointed whisper.

How right Josh was about vampires reading micro expressions. His friend had seen that brief moment of hesitation cross his face. "I'm sorry... I just locked up for a second. I've got a real bad feeling about this, Aidan!" He had completely lost any good vibes and optimism he had in his possession when he walked in. He felt so off-kilter he couldn't even fake it at this point. Josh was done.

"Was she that beautiful, Josh?" Sally teased.

Josh managed to keep his voice pitched low, but spoke rapidly. "Well, it's like you said, they're not looking to make friends with anyone who isn't a vampire. I'm not supposed to talk to anyone who doesn't want to talk to me, and I won't know if they want to talk to me unless I wait for them to say something first. If I look around while I wait, I am being standoffish and rude. If I look down at the floor I look like a subservient little schmuck. If I look at Aidan, I look like some sort of sycophantic, codependent sidekick. If I look at them, then they feel obligated to talk to me, whether they want to or not! It's a no-win situation. It, it, it, it… It's way awkward and I,I,I… I can't win!"

"Okay… well, at least let me point out a few people." Aidan walked them back to the table at which they had met The Deputy. He pointed out a cougar sitting in an armchair. "She's one of the oldest vampires we brought in. She's an administrator in the Board of Education and our new representative in the Parent Teacher Association in the Boston Elementary School District."

Sally voiced Josh's exact reaction. "You have a vampire in the P.T.A?"

"We need to have a man everywhere." Aidan explained, shaking his head and shrugging.

"What about her, the one with the red hair?" Sally asked, pointing the girl from Michigan out to Aidan.

"She's one of our youngest and most inexperienced. She's a file clerk at the court house."

"She's a public servant," the ghost said smugly. "That figures. Your Yooper was just super rude to us."

"Yeah," the vampire said flatly, "her family did seem a little eager to get rid of her. But we absolutely need someone to fix documents for us in the city mainframe, so it was either take her or turn someone. We'll be watching her closely."

In all, Aidan pointed out a policewoman, a reporter for the newspaper talking to a cameraman for the local news, a barber, two bartenders, an officer with the Boston Parking Authority, a customs officer who worked at the shipyard, a concierge, a forensic accountant, a psychiatrist, a jeweler, a supervisor at Boston Power and Light, an obstetrician, a real estate agent, an event planner, a small group of vampires who individually worked private security for the local elite, and ironically, a substance abuse specialist.

"Still not feeling up to meeting anyone else?" He asked the werewolf.

Josh took a deep breath as if to answer, then exhaled, closed his eyes and shook his head.

"Okay," Aidan said appeasingly, reaching in to his front pants pocket and pulled out his iphone. "Take this, and you can give it to me when the meeting starts. That way, everyone will see you, and you won't have to talk to them."

"And everyone will know how good I am at fetch!" Josh suggested with mock happiness and pride.

Sally put her hands on her hips. "Josh, you're reading way too much in to everything, and that's how you talked yourself in to a bad mood!" Sally said. She crossed her arms. "If you want to get out of more introductions, just take the phone."

With a sigh, Josh obeyed. "How much longer?" he asked Aidan, pocketing the phone.

Aidan looked around. "A few more people and we should be ready to start. Just… sit tight, okay?"

"No problem!"

Aidan walked off to mingle again, leaving Sally so Josh wouldn't have to stand there all alone.

"Are you usually this much fun at parties?" She asked.

"At parties were everybody hates me for something completely out of my control?" The werewolf took a small sip of his wine, rolling it on his tongue before answering. "Yes."

For the next fifteen minutes the two friends chit-chatted about the vampires, the network, and how blessedly and amazingly unaware they had been about the true state of the world before they became a member of the supernatural.

Aidan announced they were going to get started and asked everyone to get seated. Josh and Sally watched them filter in to the seats and get settled, patiently waiting for their big moment. Aidan stood up at the podium, patted his pockets, then explained in to the microphone, "My bullet points are in my phone, and I think my roommate has it… Josh, do you have my phone?" He sounded genuinely curious, and his eyes skirted around the side of the room opposite of where he knew Josh was standing as if Josh could be anywhere, successfully socializing.

"How do I look?" He murmured to Sally.

"You look so good you've already knocked them dead!" She quipped.

He smiled. It wasn't a great joke, not up to her usual level, but it felt good to have at least one soul's support. He confidently walked up to Aidan with Sally trailing behind him.

"Ah, thank you, Josh!" Aidan said when he was reunited with his phone. "I'll see you two at home." He said to the both of them. Josh turned and walked straight back to the door, while Sally disappeared and reappeared near their table. She waited for Josh there, and then joined him again to walk with him towards the door, the show off. Josh wondered if Aidan had also set up that little scene to specifically call attention to the fact they were leaving to allay any concerns the vampires might have that the core family would now include werewolves and ghosts. Josh took the last two swallows of his wine, and returned the glass to the serving station. The bartender moved forward immediately to retrieve it. He eagerly made a quick and quiet escape. If the bartender was going to throw his glass in the trash, he didn't want to see it.

After making sure the door was closed as soundlessly as possible, Josh took a few steps, stopped with his hands on his hips; his eyes closed, and heaved a large sigh. He was so very, very happy to be free.

The door behind him opened, and the bartender slipped out with her purse, closing the door behind her as quietly as he had. She smiled politely at Josh as she passed him and took a seat in the lobby. She pulled a tattered paperback out of her purse and settled in to pass the time until the meeting was over, and she was allowed back in to the room to serve drinks.

Josh gave the man in the cloakroom his ticket, and received his coat.

"Would you like me to call you a cab, sir?" The man asked.

Josh considered it. It was cold outside, but he felt unsettled and dirty, and he didn't want to walk back in to his home feeling this way. His home was a sanctuary he had recently gone to extraordinary lengths to preserve. He needed to feel, step by step, this place further and further behind him; needed to sort through these feelings, put them away, and feel more centered and at peace with himself again before walking through his own door. Sally wouldn't be bothered by the cold and didn't get tired, so it would be entirely her choice to come along or teleport herself home. "No, thank you. I'll walk."

Besides, it would help fill the time until Aidan came home.


	21. RoRPart20ChapterNone

"I am the Angel of Def  
With my rhymes against humanity  
Teeter-tottering between brilliance and insanity…"  
- The Inevitable Return Of The Great White Dope, Hooray for Boobies. The Bloodhound Gang

The Reciprocity of Ratiocination.

Part 20, Chapter None: The Triumphant Return of the Little Red Stripe!

Dear Reader,

Our lives are not fated to take a single path. We are endowed by our creator with free will. But there are those who believe that there are outside forces that influence us by slipping in undetected and determining the little details that factor into our decisions. And it is known that subjects under observation change in response to that scrutiny. So far, you have been the observer. Now, you will be the mysterious force that will choose the ending of Josh's story. Be kind, our little werewolf friend deserves to be happy!

Sincerely,

The Author.

(Pining for Porn)

Off you go!

End Chapter One: Josh gets the girl.

End Chapter Two: Josh gets the guy.


	22. RoRPart21EndChapterOne

"Like 'em easy and hot and sweet like a Rice Krispy Treat.  
Gee, you know what I really want in a girl?  
… ME!"  
- Three Point One Four, Hooray for Boobies. The Bloodhound Gang.

Reciprocity of Ratiocination.

Part 21, Ending 1. Slouching Towards Cannon: Josh Gets the Girl.

At last, the week had finally wound down to a close. The blood den was at that moment celebrating their grand reopening, and Aidan had some new prospective friends. A wholly new support system was in place, and the supernatural world in Boston was safe again, all thanks to Aidan.

The two best friends sat on the new couch, fully dressed, knowing this was the end of their affair together, and romance would turn back into bromance forever after. It was right. They were okay with this. But not until after one last night together. The two men held one another's eyes, relieved and happy.

While exchanging small, light kisses, the men made themselves more comfortable, Josh stretching out over Aidan as their kisses deepened, and hands began to roam more freely, covetous. Josh pulled back slightly, and Aidan stole the opportunity to kiss his way back Josh's jaw line to nuzzle his neck.

Josh smiled. "Compel me," he whispered.

Aidan's tongue ran up along the artery in his neck. "Are you sure? You don't want your free will?"

"Free will? I could refuse any direction you give me if I want."

He felt Aidan smile against his neck; Josh was instantly welcomed by a mental log on request.

"Oh, really?"

Josh laughed, logging in to Aidan's vibe. "Oh, yeah."

Josh went with it... and dove into kissing Aidan hard and fast. Aidan gave as good as he got. Just as he was mentally moving Josh backwards, meaning to sit them both up and then climb on top of the werewolf, Josh broke the spell, pushing Aidan back into the couch, hard. He leveled an evil smirk at the vampire's look of surprise.

Aidan nodded, accepting a challenge. "Okay... let's play!" With the link re-established, they fell into sync again. The vibrations were not stronger, but tighter this time: higher in amplitude, not voltage... so to speak. They fell to kissing again, Aidan's hand worming its way under Josh's sweater vest and shirt, then reversing its trajectory, sliding down to sneak in between warm soft skin and the belt of Josh's pants. Aidan chose that moment for a strategic reposition, only to be rudely thwarted again by Josh. The vampire gave a playful groan of frustration, slapping a flat palm against the couch. Josh threw back his head and laughed. He loved how emotive Aidan could be, his reactions were priceless.

He would miss this, being with Aidan this way. But, you couldn't exactly run the vampire underground reeking of werewolf sex. It takes a lot of the intimidation out of the position, constantly rolling in the scent of what others of your kind considered a lesser being. And while his parents would have been happy to welcome Aidan into the family as his Significant Other, just as they were supportive of his sister and her girlfriends, it just wasn't meant to be. There was something very special about their friendship as it was. Odd as it seems, Josh had a lot more influence over Aidan as a friend than as a lover. Aidan felt responsible to hold himself together, because Josh, a living person trying to make a life for himself, depended on Aidan's self-control to not spin their collective lives in to chaos. For now, for the both of them, it worked, for which they were grateful.

Josh sank down, molding his body against his roommate's, resting his head on Aidan's chest. A log on request tapped at his mind. Request accepted. Across the link... a stay command? A WEREWOLF JOKE? NOW? He gave the vampire's arm a playful slap. "Sore loser!" They snuggled together there, laughing quietly together, feeling safe, and happy, and optimistic.

Tomorrow was a new day, the beginning of a new era. And he was free to see about a young woman he had been thinking a lot about lately.

Epilogue.

The Next Day.

Nora was having a bad morning. The police had brought in an uncooperative female suspect with a laceration on her left forearm. And now that woman was her uncooperative patient. She was in her early twenties, with curly auburn hair that looked like a doll. She wore a dark copper lipstick that worked well with her coloring. A floral peasant blouse over jeans flattered her trim figure. She would have been very beautiful if she wasn't obviously insane. She was cradling her bloody forearm, backing away while hissing and screeching at Nora anytime Nora attempted to approach her. Nora had pursued her around the perimeter of the small room twice now, with no end to this little game in sight.

The door opened and a doctor entered the room, wearing a lab coat over a full set of surgical scrubs, and gloves with a cap and mask. He carried a surgical drape folded under his arm. He excused the policeman stationed inside the door, telling the officer they could better calm the patient alone. The policemen looked to Nora for verification, and not wanting to contradict a doctor, she nodded. The policeman stepped out of the room, closing the door quietly.

The doctor turned, removing his mask and cap. It was Josh! He looked not at Nora, but the woman. He halfheartedly mimicked Robin Williams: "Good morning, Michigan!" The woman immediately dropped the crazy act, crossing her arms in front of her and shooting Josh a long-suffering look. "Ah! I see you remember me! When we met at the party last night, I know I was hoping to not see you again so soon!"

The woman's tone was disdainful when she answered, "The feeling was mutual."

"Nonetheless," Josh went on, dumping his phone, wallet, and keys from the pocket of the lab coat on to the instrument tray before taking the coat off and tossing it onto the empty exam table. "Here I am to save your ass."

Ten minutes before, The Deputy came up to Josh in the hall. "Excuse me, orderly," he said, touching Josh on the arm and making eye contact, "we have a little situation in Emergency. Could you help us clean that up?"

Simple as that, the plan blossomed full flower in Josh's mind, planted there quickly and efficiently by The Deputy. It was not an order or program, but a polite request. With so little of the network actually in place, the hospital seemed like the best place to shake the prisoner loose. It was trust, and Josh did respect and appreciate that. He nodded his agreement, procured the doctor's scrubs on the way to his locker, folded his own clothes inside the drape, changed scrubs, left his scrubs in his locker, and headed straight to Emergency.

The scrub pants joined the lab coat draped across the exam table as Josh pulled out his own pants and put them on. "Go on..." Josh said, "Get undressed!"

She sneered. "If I put those on, I'm gonna smell like you! Forget it!"

Josh shrugged. "Well, you could either consider it part of the punishment, or..." Josh pulled out a wooden stake, another gem from his locker. "If you would do me a favor and step into the wastebasket before I stake you, it would make clean-up much faster and I would really appreciate it!" This little threat had been the Deputy's suggestion. The last thing they needed during a cold start was a trouble maker.

The woman looked leery.

Josh smiled, "Yeah... not a good time of the month to challenge me, huh?"

Nora was shocked. This woman knew what Josh was? She turned to Josh, her voice low. "What's going on?"

Josh smiled over at her, still holding the stake. "This... is the network at work! This one," he indicated the young woman, "needs to be out of the city's possession. So we help." He looked back at the woman. "Go on!"

"She's a suspect in a murder investigation!" Nora pointed out.

"She's a vampire. That's sort of their thing!" Josh parried.

Nora narrowed her eyes, thinking, before asking, "What happened to _Rule One: No One Gets Hurt_?"

Josh looked surprised for a second. "Oh!" He said, "That's more of a house rule, that's not everybody… that's just us." He gave a little smile with an apologetic shrug.

Josh put down the stake, removed the scrub top, and replacing it with his own plaid shirt, rolled up the left sleeve all the way to his shoulder. The woman gave an aggravated sort of sigh, and removed her top. She wasn't wearing anything underneath.

Nora asked, "what about her arm?"

Josh looked at Nora and shook his head. "Get a little blood in her, and you'll never know that cut was there. She'll be fine."

Nora's mind couldn't help but jog back about five weeks, Aidan laying on a gurney in the basement, a hole stabbed into his chest; Josh's voice telling her, "Nora... just blood." Nora shook her head. She really needed to figure out a way to recognize these people.

The vampire lady from Michigan kicked off her shoes and moved on to the pants, again, she was nude underneath. Josh kept his gaze on Nora. Finally, her scrub pants on, Josh improvised a good way to tuck her hair up under the cap by using a medical clamp to hold her tresses in a high twist; wrapping any stray locks around the clamp. Surgical shoe covers hid her red penny loafers. Josh picked up a scalpel and facing her, placed his left palm flat on her chest up near her left shoulder, then handed her the scalpel. Nora didn't like where this was going.

"Just the bicep, please, no tendons, and not too deep... I don't want a scar. Oh, and make sure it doesn't look self-inflicted!"

Michigan's eyes dropped to Josh's upper arm then back up to Josh's face with a cruelly amused and speculative look.

Josh addressed her levelly, "You try anything funny, and they'll take your teeth for it!" The Deputy had given him this phrase, but he had no idea what it meant. It had a strong effect on her, though. Her facial expression straightened, and with a quick movement she sliced Josh's upper arm.

Josh's only reaction was a slight pinching of the small muscles around his eyes. He gave her a single nod, a thank you, and took the scalpel back from her. Blood flowed freely down his arm as he grabbed fresh gloves from the drawer. The masks in the room were the wrong color, so she was stuck with the one Josh had used. She donned the gloves and lab coat, and shot Josh one last disdainful look as she put the mask over her own face, and exited straight away.

Josh hopped up on to the exam table, smiling at Nora. "Alone at last!" Nora blinked at him. "Nora, I need stitches!" This seemed to get her moving. The blood was dripping down his arm, and on to his pants. That was alright. They had to make this look good, didn't they?

Nora set up the suture kit and began to clean off the excess blood when the policeman that Josh had sent away knocked and opened the door. "Excuse me," he said, his confused eyes going from Nora to Josh, "we have a suspect being treated somewhere in here, we think she may have been moved. Do you know where she is?" His eyes rested on Nora again, his brows furrowing, not quite remembering her.

Both Nora and Josh shook their heads.

"Just me here," said Josh.

Nora smiled and shrugged. "Sorry!"

The Deputy appeared behind the officer and placing a hand on his shoulder, told him, "She's not in the other room, either, Don. Let's keep lookin'!"

The police officers vacated the doorway, closing the door quietly as they left.

Josh's attention shifted back on Nora, who heaved a small, bracing sigh. She kept her eyes on her work, readying the gauze and sutures. She didn't seem excited to be spending time with Josh. In fact, her demeanor seemed downright somber.

Despite this, Josh thrilled to her presence, not realizing until this moment how much he had missed her, missed her scent and her radiant face. Was there ever a woman so beautiful, so perfect on earth before this moment?

Nora felt Josh's focus like a laser beam, but she didn't feel ready to connect with him. There was a distance there now, a gulf of secrets he still held between them and she wouldn't, couldn't, abide it anymore.

"So…" Josh began, trying to breach the sudden silence, "Everything's in place again. Boston's secure."

_A more secure place for monsters to kill people_, she thought, but that was a moral question that she really didn't need to be wrestling with right now, not with so many other pressing things that needed to be dealt with first. She decided to cut the crap and just go right for it, no beating around the bush and wasting time. It would be nice to clear things up between the two of them before tonight, before knowing whether or not he had turned her into a werewolf. It would be nice to choose him freely, and not inherit him as a consolation prize for her lost humanity.

Her voice was steady and serious. "Josh, I think we have a chance, but only if you come clean with me about everything, because all those things you don't tell me are only driving us apart. And if you are not willing to truly share what is going on in your life with me, then we have no business being together." She paused, grabbing the needle and administering the anesthetic shot in preparation for the stitches. "I know there is something you need to tell me about… Now this is your chance." She looked at him expectantly. He looked clueless, to which she responded by looking irritated. She gave another one of those short little sighs, and grabbed his phone off of the tray. She flipped it open. "I'll give you a hint," Nora's voice showing him how rapidly her patience with him was waning. She handed him the phone, open and displaying a picture of Aidan kissing him in the kitchen.

Josh felt a stab of guilt, first because the photo was there and second because she knew about it. But she knew about him and Aidan, that it was just a temporary arrangement between friends. Was she jealous? Was she looking for assurances that it was over with Aidan?

"Who is she, Josh?" Nora asked.

Josh was stunned. She? There was no 'she'! Josh drew a breath to speak but Nora cut him off.

"I know its Aidan IN the picture, Josh!" She rolled her eyes. She was dead serious and pissed. He was in trou-ble! "Who. Is. She?"

It was Josh's turn to take a bracing sigh. Okay. He focused on the picture. He knew exactly when the picture was taken. One didn't easily forget the best night of their whole life. He went back over the night in his mind…

It had been the night that Aidan had taken him to the Blood Den, an abandoned looking warehouse building with the curious graffito "MAN R NEAR" spray painted by the door. A warning to vampires? A promise? Did all Blood Dens have them, or was it completely random? He hadn't asked: Josh thought it was best that there were things he didn't know.

He had been surprised to find that on the inside there was a swanky club-type setting, with two rows of curtained, benched booths lined up along a roomy center aisle. There was a sitting area just inside, and another one in the center of the room, in between the booths. Blocking the large isle way just beyond the midpoint seating, was a bed that had a red satin headboard and looked to be made up with black satin sheets.

There was a standing ice bucket by the couch and on the coffee table stood two wine glasses. Aidan filled a glass and handed it to him. "Drink up!" Josh took a sip, and Aidan smiled and shook his head. "All of it," he told Josh, his finger pushing the bottom up to pour the contents in Josh's mouth. Josh unhooked the glass from Aidan's finger, paused to swallow what was in his mouth, and then drained the rest of the glass on his own, handing it back to Aidan.

"Now, there are clothes for you in the first booth, and I need to go check on a couple of things, so go get changed, and wait for me in one of the armchairs down there. Just remember, the reason we are here tonight is to have fun… so relax, and just… go with the flow, okay?"

Josh nodded, and Aidan reached out, grasped the side of his neck gently and pulled him in for a kiss. The kiss was chaste at first, and then deepened with restrained passion, and realizing how much Aidan wanted him quickened an answering need in Josh, shooting straight down to Josh's loins. Josh had a feeling he had a lot to look forward to tonight!

Aidan walked away, stopping to flip on the music: slow, sultry hip-hop with a lot of bass. Josh wondered if Aidan had carefully chosen the music and made a playlist on his iPod, or if he just tuned it in to some sort of satellite get-your-groove-on station. Most likely the latter, he was a busy guy these days.

Josh ducked into the first booth, and there was a mesh shirt and cargo pants neatly folded and waiting for him. He was a little relieved, he had been thinking the worst, and was expecting perhaps a dress, a Daisy Duke outfit, or a bow tie and G-string that looked like a tuxedo. It was the kind of thing Josh supposed guys wore to raves, which made sense; Aidan had brought him here to be a club bunny. The mesh felt strange against his skin, making him feel both naked and on display. The pants were too big for him, and that made him feel more silly than sexy, like a clown. But the order of the night was to go with the flow, so he put on only those clothes, figuring he was supposed to go commando. He decided the shirt would look less weird untucked, and let the hem fall down to drape along the top of the pants naturally.

Josh wasn't in the arm chair very long when Aidan joined him, bringing two glasses of wine. He handed one to Josh and settled in the seat next to him.

"Hi! I'm Aidan… I thought you looked like you could use a drink." His voice was gentle, a little hesitant; as if they didn't know each other and he was worried he was going to be viciously rejected. Josh smiled, and thanked him for the wine. It's been a year since they met for the first time, now they get to pretend to do it all again. "I haven't seen you around before, are you new here?"

"Yeah," Josh answered, "It's my first time!"

"Well, it's nice to meet you…" Aidan held out his hand, trailing off and waiting for a name.

"Uhm…" Josh looked up and to the right, and then said the first name that popped into his head. "Tammi!"

Aidan looked thrown for a moment, and Josh fervently hoped he didn't just blurt out the name of an old girlfriend he accidently ate or his wife. Oh, please don't let Tammi be his wife! But then Aidan gave him a dazzling smile, his eyes running over Josh's nearly naked torso.

"So, Tammi, it's your first time, what brings you here?"

Josh gave Aidan the same answer he had given to Nora when she had asked him pretty much the same question. "Oh, you know… life experience." He decided to expand the story. They were here to have fun, weren't they? "I'm exploring the world while I'm waiting for school to start. I'm going to study cosmetology. It's my dream to make the world a more beautiful place by getting ugly girls to wear makeup!" For all Josh knew, all the residents of the Blood Den held doctorates, and he was being incredibly offensive. It worked like a charm, though.

Aidan laughed, both surprised and amused. It wasn't often Josh was in a playful mood. He was enjoying the hell out of this!

"So," asked Josh, "What brings you here tonight, Aidan?"

"Oh," replied Aidan, "Well, I... I have this really weird fetish!"

"Oh, really?" Josh said smoothly, a smile playing on his lips. "What is it?"

Aidan sent Josh his best charming-yet-self-deprecating smile. "I have a real thing for good looking guys with effeminate names."

Josh's answering laughter was light and easy.

Aidan smoothly deposited the wine glass on the floor and stood with one hand over his heart and the other held out to Josh. "Care to dance?"

Josh carefully placed his wine glass on the floor next to the other one, took the proffered hand, and Aidan guided him up effortlessly, leading him a few feet away and pulling their bodies together. Aidan wrapped both of his arms around Josh's back, leaving Josh to put his arms around Aidan's neck. It reminded Josh of high school dances. Mentally feeling his friend's invitation, he opened his mind to Aidan's presence and welcomed in a steadily smoldering heat. Both of their bodies were warming to the other's presence, cocks hardening as they danced. The two of them were swaying just enough to rub up against each other where it mattered most. Aidan started nuzzling Josh's cheek, kissing and mouthing his way back to whisper in Josh's ear, "hum, you smell good!"

Josh started to smile, but then remembered that he smelled strongly of dog to his friend, he rolled his eyes and scoffed, jerking his right arm in as sort of in-and-down motion, trying to elbow the vampire as best he could from their embrace. "Whatever!" Josh mumbled.

Aidan chuckled, the reverberations of his baritone laughter feeling like a loving caress as it moved through the inside of the werewolf's body. Josh was in an obvious state of arousal now; his breathing was now deeper and faster while he began to kiss and nip at Aidan's jaw, working his way around to claim his friend's mouth. Such sweet, sweet kisses. Aidan's hands slipped down around Josh's hips, up underneath the hem of his shirt, and slipped inside the back of his pants, fondling his bare bottom and canting his hips closer, and providing better friction.

The younger man threw his head back and laughed. "Oh, so that's why the big pants!"

Aidan laughed lightly, too. He nodded. "Uh-huh!" Aidan's eyes dropped to Josh's mouth. Josh brought their mouths back together again, moaning and running his fingers through Aidan's hair. Their kisses grew deeper and longer, the motion of their dancing sending tingles through them as their entire bodies hummed with arousal. It was getting hard to stay standing. As inconsequential as Josh's clothing was, he nonetheless began to feel overdressed.

Josh pulled away, and slipping Aidan's hands out of the back of his pants, grabbed the vampire by the arm and used his own body weight to leverage his friend towards the bed. Aidan allowed the move, rolled onto the bed and landing on his back, popped up on his elbows, and crooked his finger at the werewolf with a smirk. Josh growled and pounced onto the bed, wrapping his arms and legs around Aidan as the vampire rolled on top of him.

Aidan pressed him down into the bed, kissing his way down, stopping for a moment to suck hard at his neck before continuing the journey and biting lightly at Josh's nipples through the cool material of the see-through shirt. Josh couldn't keep still. He was writhing a little, tracing his hands over Aidan's shoulders, and up his neck to run his fingers through Aidan's short hair.

Aidan continued exploring with suckling kisses and running his teeth lightly over Josh's skin through the thin mesh material. When he reached the waistband of the pants, lifted the shirt enough to lick a line across Josh's abdomen. He popped the snap with his fingers, and then tossed a wink up to Josh as he pulled the zipper down with his teeth. Josh chuckled and helpfully lifted his hips. Aidan removed the pants, careful to avoid Josh's erection, and tossed the pants nonchalantly over his shoulder.

He moved back up to whisper in Josh's ear. "Pay close attention…" He sucked Josh's earlobe into his mouth, scraping it with his teeth as he let it go, noting that little shiver that shimmied down Josh's spine. "There will be a test!"

Aidan dropped one last kiss on Josh's lips and moved back down to settle low between the werewolf's legs. He pulled the shirt back down his friend's hips, tugging the front so he could tuck it down around the testicles. As the vampire spread lubricant on his fingers, he blew lightly across the genitalia laid open before him, moving close to kiss and nuzzle the younger man's scrotum through the material. Josh was certainly enjoying himself. The material added an interesting dimension to the sensations.

As the vampire worked his way up to rub his face along the nylon covered erection, he brought his lubricated finger up to worm it's way inside of his friend. Little circles, along with an in-and-out motion designed to open up his friend as quickly as possible. Little circles became larger circles and his finger began to sweep over the prostate as the older man sucked the circumcised head of the cock into his mouth, his tongue pressed flat to stimulate the entire tip.

Josh sucked in his breath in a hiss, he was panting now, fingers clutching the sheets beneath him. Aidan brushed the shirt up out of the way as he took the entire length into his mouth and added a second finger. Josh cried out in a moan, and added a short plaintive sound to each of his exhales.

All in one motion Aidan withdrew from him: fingers, mouth, everything. Josh let out a disappointed little groan of protest, but it didn't help to restore those lovely sensations. Aidan was wiping his fingers clean with a little white towel. The vampire moved up to straddle the werewolf, then let his body fall to the side, pulling Josh around with him and reversing their positions. "Alright!" The older man exclaimed at the look of surprise on the younger man's face. "Pop quiz time!" Pushing Josh downwards, he said, "I want you to prepare me as quickly as I did you! No dallying, now!"

Josh pursed his lips, taking up the lubricant. A challenge! The younger man began to nuzzle at his friend's cock a split second before his fingertips pressed up against that little ring of muscle guarding the entrance of said friend's body. Aidan closed his eyes, canting his face upwards and relaxing as best as he could, trusting his body to Josh.

Aidan lost himself in the sensations, monitoring the werewolf's progress: little circles while licking the glands, a second finger with that most wonderful feeling of suction. With the third digit it was full on finger fucking, which was nice, but he wanted the real thing. "Good!" Aidan praised, taking the werewolf lightly around the neck and urging him up. The vampire coaxed Josh on top of him, inner thighs clamping against the other man's hips to hold him close. "Take me," he whispered into the werewolf's ear before inviting himself to a deep, enthusiastic kiss.

Josh reached back to pull the top sheet over them to prevent any peeper-ghosts floating around from getting an entire eyeful before giving Aidan a kiss in kind.

Aidan had so expertly lined Josh up, all the werewolf had to do is push his hips forward, and he was inside of his friend. A steady pressure and he was balls deep all the way in. "Oh, fuck!" He whimpered when his lips were his own again. He pulled out, pressed in deep again. "You're so tight!" Another stroke. Josh looked into Aidan's eyes. "You feel incredible," he told the vampire. The orderly kissed his friend as he fell into an enjoyable pace: not so fast that he would be coming in under a minute, and not too slow, a pace that caused the most delicious sensations to cascade over the both of them. He thought it was going fantastically, until the older man started to laugh.

"What's so funny?" Josh asked, slowing the pace of the thrusting down considerably.

"The bed!" Aidan replied, "Its Marcus'!"

"Yuck! I was wondering why it reeked of stale cigarette smoke and inadequacy!" Josh quipped, and Aidan laughed harder.

"PLEASE tell me you at least washed the sheets first," begged the orderly.

"Oh, the sheets weren't Marcus', I got these a long time ago for your birthday!" Taking the opportunity, because by the time Josh's actual birthday rolled around, they wouldn't be buddies with beni's anymore, Aidan pressed a couple of warm, sloppy kisses to his friend's lips. "Happy Birthday!"

"Thanks!" Josh's magnanimous answer sounding suspiciously like sarcasm, and he stopped thrusting altogether, looking at Aidan pointedly.

The nurse sighed dramatically, rolling his eyes. He moved his head side to side with each word, to highlight the fact he shouldn't have to be burdened to go through the formality of answering. "Yes, I washed the sheets!" He jerked the heel of his right foot into the top man's buttock. "Now giddy-up cowboy," he told him, "you're burnin' daylight!"

Josh scoffed and shook his head, but pressed his lips to Aidan's and reached for the lubricant, coating his own fingers. Thrusting resumed, and his slick, warm fingers slid around Aidan's cock.

Now it was Aidan's turn to groan and pant.

As much as they tried to take their time, something that felt that wonderful couldn't last for long. Aidan came first. Hearing his friend's excitement, and feeling the added sensations of the muscle contractions inside Aidan's body broke Josh's control and set him off. For a few collective seconds they were both held aloft in suspended animation, adrift in pleasure, before coming back to their own senses.

Josh worked his legs up to get his knees under him, spreading wide apart under Aidan's legs to get some stability. He would have liked to collapse on top of his partner, but his right hand was still clasped around Aidan's cock and was covered in semen and lubricant, so, sitting back on his heels, he rested his left upper arm on Aidan's thigh so he could support his head with his left hand while he recovered.

When they had rallied enough to open their eyes and smile at each other, Aidan carefully extricated himself from Josh, and rolled off of the bed, leaving Josh to stretch out on his side. The vampire stood up, and walked to something past the headboard. The sound of something metal being manipulated. Then Aidan's upper body popping up over the headboard, tongs in hand, holding what looked like a big burrito in the low light. "Would you like a hot towel, sir?"

Josh smiled. "I would love one! Thank you!"

Aidan expertly tossed the rolled up towel in the air and caught it, clipping the tongs down on a fold so the towel unrolled, releasing a small billow of steam. He waved it around a little to cool the cloth: declaring an entirely unintentional surrender. Deeming the towel now safe for werewolf use, he brought the towel close to Josh to take hold of it. Josh laid it on his chest while he wiped off the bulk of the fluids from his hand with the dry towel they were using earlier. Then he washed off his hand, genitalia, and the lubricant left over from Aidan's "lesson".

He could hear Aidan cleaning himself off on the other side of the headboard. So sudden it startled him, half of the headboard's fabric was yanked back and away. Where there had been red satin draped over the whole thing, now only half was draped in red, and a polished wooden headboard was exposed on the other half. Aidan walked back into view, tying the sash of a red satin robe around his waist.

"I am going to finish setting up in there, so just wait here, and I'll come back for you, okay?"

Josh nodded.

Aidan smiled and headed off into the darkness again.

Josh got out of the bed, walking past the headboard to a stand with a long, cylindrical metal top. The tongs were hanging over a handle, and the towels that Aidan had already used were draped over the top. Josh opened the top, and peered through the steam to see several rows of towels neatly packed in the tray, ready to use. He fetched one more towel with the tongs. Now that he was alone, he could almost feel Marcus' cooties settling on his skin. He gave himself a quick once-over with this towel, and used that cloth to grab the other two dirty ones from off of the bed, and placed all three on top of the steamer with the others. Now that he was on the other side of the headboard he could tell it was a robe draped over the top, the neckline was visible and the sleeves dangled towards the floor. Josh pulled the robe off of the bed, shaking it and making as satisfying a snapping sound as he could to assure himself there were neither cooties nor spiders clinging to the smooth, shiny cloth.

Aidan returned a couple of minutes later, finding Josh sitting on the bed wearing the matching red robe. He beckoned Josh, and put his arm around him as he led him away from the bed. "Now, I need your help!" Aidan's tone was affable. They were walking down a tiled hallway. "My appointments this afternoon were interviews with local chefs. I need someone who knows enough about food to evaluate their dishes. And since you're our resident foodie..."

"And the only one of us who can actually taste food..." Josh supplied helpfully.

"Yes..." Aidan agreed easily, "I am asking you to help me."

After a couple of turns, and they walked into a commercial kitchen, all decked out in stainless steel and marble. Aidan chuckled at the surprise and delight on Josh's face. This place was a pampered chef's dream! Set out on a long preparation table, there were 36 dishes, 3 glasses of water, and 6 glasses of wine. "I met with three chefs," Aidan explained, "and I instructed each of them to prepare two of each category: Salads, breakfast, lunch, dinner, dessert, and snacks. For lunch, dinner, and dessert, they had to make one that would go with red wine and one that would go with white. The donors eat communally, and eat very old world, traditional meals; the kind of diets you find in blue zones. What's good for the heart and body is good for the blood, so everything is made fresh: lots of natural foods. And while we want them to have a rich, flavorful diet that will keep them balanced and regular, we don't want anything really pungent, like seafood." Aidan shrugged. "More turf than surf."

"The people who work here are called "donors?" Josh asked, doubt in his voice.

"No," Aidan answered sarcastically, "the people who work HERE are called cooks. The people who work out in the front room are called donors."

Josh sniggered, rolling his eyes.

"Hey, laugh all you want," Aidan offered playfully. "But they've got that farm co-op thing going!"

Josh laughed outright. "NOW we've GOT to get it!"

"Exactly!"

They stood there smiling, enjoying the moment.

"Alright, Iron Chef! Get tasting!" The vampire encouraged. "Go! Go!"

Josh was excited. Not only was he getting laid, but he was getting fed gourmet, and every bite was going to be from a different dish! Each of the plates was sitting on a piece of construction paper that was one of three colors that corresponded to that chef's folder. As Josh took a bite, Aidan would read out the chef's description of the dish from their folder. He started with the salads. They were all satisfactory, but he detected an odd flavor common to all of them. "It's juniper," said Aidan, "don't ask!"

Firm fresh vegetables sautéed and bursting with flavor, small handmade tortillas with intriguing spreads, gluten-free whole grain biscuits still warm from baking: Josh tasted them all one by one, Aidan jotting down his comments in the folders. More than one dish prompting an "Oh! I want this recipe!" from the connoisseur. Some of the dishes were simple staple meals, but good, and others had a surprising and sensual twist, like the concoctions were designed to be enjoyed slowly and experienced with good friends. Josh playfully offered Aidan a spoonful of the blood pudding, but Aidan just could not be tempted.

"Well, the chef with the green folder tends to use a little too much cayenne pepper in their cooking, but other than that, everything was excellent." Josh leaned back onto a stool, a glass of white wine cradled in his hand. He took a slow, appreciative drink. "What now?"

The vampire reached past Josh to grab a glass of red wine. He took a swig. "Well, we need to clean this up. No one will be here for at least another week. But if you'd like, you could take home a couple of uh..."

The werewolf cocked his head to the side, narrowing his eyes; practically daring the man he had just fucked in the ass to use the words DOGGIE BAG.

"... Leftovers!" Aidan finished innocently.

Josh huffed in amusement. "And then?" He prompted.

"Oh, a quick bathroom break and one more surprise."

The younger man perked up, looking pleased. Together, they packed up a couple of Josh's favorites, loaded up the dishwasher and set it to run. A few swipes with the kitchen towel, and everything was set to right and gleaming.

After the promised bathroom break, the men met up at the wash basins in the opulent restroom.

Aidan looked up at Josh through the mirror as they washed their hands side by side. "You are really gonna love this one!" He assured Josh. Deeper into the donor's sanctum, they went. The donors must lead a pretty good life back here, if the decor is anything to go by. Josh saw a communal shower that was made to look like it was outside: with moss, ferns, rocks, and a couple of rounded slat wooden benches. Josh had the feeling he was going to be fantasizing about this shower in the future: filled with naked nubile women helping each other soap up their firm, wet, slippery skin. Talk about a wet dream! Although it was an oddly fitting shower for a man harboring a wolf that strongly preferred the outdoors, Aidan took him straight past it towards a white tiled passageway.

There were four partial walls that protected this area from being viewed from the rooms beyond and behind: a little anteroom lined with benches and towel hooks for changing. Aidan motioned for him to wait, ducking out of the room just long enough to start and adjust the water. They hung up their robes, and Aidan stepped up behind Josh, his hands reassuringly gripping Josh's shoulders as they walked through the short, arched entrance into another communal shower. One wall continued the white tile. The other three walls were glass. The ceiling was also glass: it was angled like a flattened pyramid. There was water pouring down on top of the glass ceiling, running down evenly to fall onto walls. All four walls were beveled to taper in at the bottom, giving support to the water as it flowed downwards onto the floor and towards a central drain. There were four showerheads along the white tiled wall, each with a niche that had a flat bottom shelf that tapered upwards toward the top: like a gothic arch, or... an elongated pyramid with a foreshortened top. A couple of freestanding showers stood along each of the glass walls, and each of those had a thick, clear shelf mounted vertically from the shower stand that heightened their symmetry. Behind the glass walls and ceiling, obscured and highlighted by the flowing water, were colored lights. About every five seconds the color would change, one fading into another. Canary yellow, puce, crimson, electric blue, popsicle orange, bright green: colors that were chosen not to subdue and relax, but to stimulate and invigorate the senses. Pyramids, light therapy, symmetry: it seemed like someone's outdated idea of "New Age meets Feng Shui," but it was still impressive for all its uniqueness and functionality. The water gave Josh an energizing sense of movement and power; and combined with the color's richness, it made him feel a little giddy: like a genie hiding in a jewel. His delighted laughter floated and mixed with the babbling water as Aidan stepped in front of him, obviously pleased with his reaction.

Only the middle two showers on the tiled wall were running. Aidan walked backwards, pulling Josh with him by the hand, smiling in anticipation. Aidan raised their joined hands high, guiding Josh under them to do a little pirouette as Aidan positioned Josh were he wanted him to be: against the wall between the two running showers. Josh's body automatically tensed as Aidan pushed him back against the slightly-angled wall, but when the wall took his weight and he found he was able to keep his footing, the younger man relaxed. Now that Josh was against the wall, the water forged rivulets down his body, tickling and enveloping him in caresses with warm, liquid fingers.

Aidan sidestepped briefly into the spray of the running shower, and grabbed the only bottle of body wash. (It was a men's fragrance, either the room was cleared for cleaning, or the donors routinely carried soaps of their own preference.) The older man poured out a measure of soap into his own cupped hand, and then in to Josh's. Aidan reached out, smearing the viscous body wash over Josh's stomach, abdomen, and shaft. Aidan's hand lingered there, lightly grasping Josh's sex as Josh followed suit, coating the front of Aidan's body with the soap. The vampire reached his hands out to either side, letting the spray from the showerheads clean off the soap. He grasped the sides of Josh's neck while their lips met for that first, deep kiss. The vampire's thumbs traced along the werewolf's jaw, and touched his cheeks affectionately as Aidan let himself lean heavily against his friend.

Josh moaned at the contact. Their bodies were wet and slippery. The warm water was flowing down, around, and in-between them. It felt incredible. Magical. Josh understood why Aidan had brought them here. Their shower at home was a claw foot tub with a curtain ring that was far smaller than the tub: so if they were both in there, there would be no room to maneuver, no way to support themselves standing up, and just as awkward laying down as the cage had been. No, this was worlds better. Josh's arms pulled Aidan tight against him, both of them were hard now, and the pleasure generated with every little movement of the vampires hips radiated throughout Josh's entire body. Josh began moving counter to Aidan's thrusts; doubling the amount of friction, and ramping up the pleasure for both of them two fold. They went on like this for a while, hands roving freely. Deep kisses were varied with smaller ones. Aidan's head dipped down every so often to lap at the water flowing down Josh's neck.

Aidan pulled away from Josh bodily, their lips the last to break contact. Taking a gentle hold of Josh's right hand with his own, he pulled the younger man away from the wall in another pirouette, and at the same time, turning and stepping back to take Josh's place. Just like he had in bed earlier, the vampire had reversed their positions, and put the werewolf in control. Josh smiled, gazing into Aidan's eyes as he doled out more soap for the both of them. Both of their cocks were rock hard and eager, and their breathing was a little deeper and faster.

With the soap freshly reapplied, Josh was upon him immediately, kissing him deeply and thrusting against the vampire. Aidan's hands curved around Josh's hips, grabbed his ass and pulled them close together. Josh's hands caressed his friend's arms as Aidan gripped his, enjoying the play of muscles under the skin. The rest of the coupling was quick and passionate, with Josh coming first, setting Aidan off just before Josh's orgasm had completed. Aidan's hands drifted up to hold Josh's waist, thumbs lightly brushing the werewolf's flanks. Josh let his body float backwards a little. Resting his forehead against Aidan's, he placed the sides of his hands on the wall above Aidan's shoulders to help channel the water between their bodies to clean them.

Once the afterglow wore off a bit, Aidan pushed Josh backwards and lead him to stand under the spray of the showerhead. Aidan stood under the other running shower, and they both gave themselves a quick once over with the body soap. Showers turned off, Aidan opened a control panel on their way out and stopped the water flowing from the ceiling. Josh was surprised to realize he had failed to notice a couple of bath towels from home waiting for them in the anteroom. To be fair, the towels had been on the bench just inside the entrance, so the towels had been behind them when they came in the first time.

Josh didn't remember much else happening that night… They dried off, put the robes back on, swung by the kitchen to pick up the food and check for anything they may have missed, went back to the front room, got dressed, stripped the sheets off of the bed, packed up and went home. Aidan put the towels in the wash. Josh put the food in the refrigerator. Aidan still had a couple of errands to run before catching a red-eye to New York for a couple of days, so they had said their goodbyes there in the kitchen. Aidan had taken Josh's face in his hands, told him thank you for the wonderful time, and leaned in to give him a nice kiss for a thank you and a goodbye... And then…

Josh heard a camera click. No, it wasn't a real camera. It was a synthesized sound file that replicated the sound of an old fashioned camera lens shutter temporarily clicking open that played to indicate the moment a screen shot was taken from his cell phone camera's video feed.

Sally laughed. "Seriously? You're doing this in the kitchen? People eat in here you know, Josh!" She teased, recalling Josh's tirade against her when she was dating Nick.

Josh pulled away from the kiss to send Sally a sharp look. He pointed at her, threatening: "Do not make that my wallpaper!" Sally, holding Josh's cell phone in her hand, sent him a dazzling, innocent smile. Amused and flirty, she had closed the phone, returned it to the dining room table, turned and skipped off, disappearing into thin air. Alone, he and Aidan had finished their goodbyes.

Oh!

Sally!

Sally was cascading curls and cotton covered curves. Sally was the only "she" in his life right now, other than Nora. There was no one else Nora could possibly mean. He started to laugh. He felt so stupid that it had taken him this long to figure it out. This was Josh's own fault. He had programmed himself so well to completely disregard Sally's presence in his life in front of Nora, that when Nora asked about Sally directly, he couldn't even draw the connection. Nora must have seen her!

Josh deleted the photo. He closed the phone.

"Remember when I told you that our landlord was arrested for killing his fiancé?"

Nora nodded.

"When Aidan and I moved in together we found the dead fiancé haunting our apartment! That's her! That's Sally! It's like the place came with a nosey, obstinate little sister. She's a ghost!"

Nora looked dubious.

"Oh, Nora! Do you realize how thrilled she is going to be? I mean, I can see Sally because I'm a werewolf, and Aidan can because of what he is…" (A cold chill passed over Nora and the pit of her stomach dropped.) "But Aidan said sometimes people with really open minds could see spirits. I can't wait to tell her you can see her now, she is going to be so excited!"

Misinterpreting Nora's lack of response he said, "Right! The picture! Well, you see, Sally was dating a guy ghost a few months ago, and apparently when two ghosts make out they kinda… radiate their energy, it's like this… creepy Cocoon sex cloud… And they were making out in the kitchen and all I could think about was how their sex cooties were permeating everything and getting in my food and I just totally freaked out on them. Sally really likes you, so when you were over she tried to give us our privacy, but since Aidan and I are both her roommates, she took our picture to give us a hard time. She was just messing with me!"

"Why didn't you ever tell me about her before?" Nora asked.

"Well, I just didn't know how to bring up the fact I live with a woman who is invisible to most people. She's stood right in front of you plenty of times, and you've never seen her before!" His tone gentled. "I guess this last month has really opened your eyes."

Nora gave him a small, hesitant smile; grasping on to that last string of hope Josh had just thrown to her.

So beautiful and fragrant she was, with that silky blonde hair and bright blue eyes. Josh was practically jubilant to be near her again. He was so anxious to win her over; he would be more than happy to do nothing but look at her for days.

He had no regrets over ending his affair with Aidan. It had been fun, but it was time for both of them to move on.

Josh had a dream the night before. He and Aidan were back in the Blood Den. But this time it was his bed in that front room made up with red satin sheets. Josh was on his knees, with his chest and right cheek pressed in to the bed. Aidan was behind him. Aidan's cock was buried to the hilt inside of him; Aidan's body leaning against him so heavily that his back was forced into a high arch that ached a little and he could feel Aidan's balls pressing against his own. There was fabric wrapped around his neck: a red satin leash. Standing all around his bed were vampires. Shot glasses, champagne flutes, and brandy snifters: they were all holding a different kind of glass, but the glasses were all filled with blood. The vampires were gathered around his bed watching this spectacle: watching their leader dominating a werewolf doggie style. They were listening to his mewling and growling, his breathless little whispers to Aidan as they made love. He felt Aidan tug on the leash, and Josh had lifted his head enough to turn it, and lay his head back down facing the other way. His eyes fell straight on Bishop, who was standing in the crowd. That smug look on Bishop's face was echoed on the other vampire's faces as well. The werewolf was being put in his place: right on the bottom. If Aidan didn't put on this little show for them, well, he would just be slumming, now wouldn't he?

The simple horror of it all was the idea that Josh could disappear forever from the real world. He could become the fairy-tale pet of a fairy-tale monster… Just like Douglas did. No one real would ever know what had become of him.

No more. He and Aidan were buds, nothing more. The idea of the leader of a vampire family carrying on an affair with a lesser being and it being tolerated in any way by the others was preposterous. The idea that a leader that reeked of sex with an animal lower than humans could garner any authority or respect was absurd. It would just never happen!

Besides, Aidan didn't hold a candle to this warm-blooded beauty in front of him. Josh beamed at Nora. He had learned so much in his time with Aidan; put so many of his worst fears to rest. He learned that the threads of violence that had wheedled their way into his fantasies after he was turned were just his psyche's way of dealing with the influx of the wolf's anger. To his great relief, excepting a tendency to growl and a nipping fetish, he could still be the gentle, generous lover he had been when he was human. He was relieved that his time with Aidan had benefited his friend as he had intended, glad that everything had worked out for the best, and feeling how ready he was to reap the rewards of an ordered life.

But, there are always repercussions for the choices we make in life. There was always a way to twist actions unfairly to stab you in the back, to loop chains of guilt around your neck that weigh you down and stain your skin. An unloving observer would say that Josh had cheated on Nora. He had selfishly pursued a new lover while Nora was sidelined suffering the painful effects of her miscarriage of Josh's baby. A baby Josh had failed to fully warn her might not be human. Nora was an innocent that Josh had cruelly used for his own gratification. He used her to feel normal, used her sexually with no thought to her protection. He had let her follow him down in to the basement and get within striking distance of the wolf, even after it had happened once before, with his sister Emily. Worse, he had not even cheated on Nora for love or lust, he had deliberately turned away from her to prostitute himself to another man.

No. Josh couldn't let himself think like that. There was a very good reason why, although people judge us by our actions, we judge ourselves by our intentions. Seeing ourselves in a positive light would be impossible if we judged ourselves so harshly. Tallying all of our disappointing outcomes in the past would inhibit us from investing ourselves in reaching for new positive outcomes and thereby prevent any improvements we may have been capable of affecting. He helped his friend through a difficult time while preventing that friend from betraying his resolution not to kill and racking up a body count. Josh was insuring Nora's safety by making sure he could trust himself with a human lover. He wanted to make it up to her. He wanted so badly to win her back. He was going for the whole shebang… he was putting himself out there for Nora. Total disclosure. Complete honesty. All in. Some things were worth getting your hopes up for.

"Why was she kissing you both at lunch yesterday?" Nora asked while setting the sutures. She wanted to get this all out in the open.

Josh looked surprised. He hadn't realized they were being watched. "Oh, um, well… Sally was talking about how she was proud of me for being such a good friend and getting Aidan through his tough time, and she just… leaned forward and pretended to kiss me. And… of course, I say 'pretended' because she's a ghost, so it felt like I had pressed my lips in to a Petri dish of frozen, electrified baking powder. Uck! It was the weirdest sensation! I turned to Aidan and told him he had to try it. They got weird about it for a second, but… I think she liked pretending to kiss Aidan better. Sally knows she can't actually touch us. She was just teasing!"

That explanation did square up with what Nora had seen the day before. If she didn't know any better, she would say Josh was finally being entirely honest with her. It was a good feeling. It almost hurt too much to hope.

She looked into his eyes, gazing back at her so lovingly. She had gone back down to look at that basement room since her miscarriage. She had seen for herself those deep scratches in the concrete. They were the marks of a wild animal desperate to escape its prison. Being here with him right now brought that reality back in a sharper focus than ever before.

However did she think she was going to handle this on her own? She was going to… what? Lock herself up in her bathroom, and if it turned out that she was infected: hope the wolf didn't claw its way through the wall? Was her bathroom door even solid wood? She thought about the sound it made and suddenly she doubted it. In her mind's eye she saw her bathroom obliterated: the vanity doors ripped off and the shelves broken; the mirror shattered; the claw marks in the porcelain; and that was before the wolf busted down the door and moved on to the rest of her apartment. It would jump out the window, and if it survived the fall, it would proceed to go on a bloody rampage. She would wake up… if she ever did wake up… broken and bleeding all over.

She couldn't do this. She couldn't face this alone. It was too dangerous for her to even attempt it.

Honesty was two way street. In order to have the relationship she wanted to have with Josh, she would have to tell him what was up with her, too. They would have to trust each other, help each other, and deal with problems like adults.

She needed to have faith in him, gather up her intentions and courage and take that first step.

The fingers of her left hand touched the place on her right shirt sleeve that hid the three scratches. Over the last month, the gesture had become so ingrained she was unaware she was even doing it. She gave Josh a small smile. She watched his eyebrows knit and his expression changed from happy to concerned as her overused tear ducts easily sent a silent tear sliding down her cheek.

In a small voice, she said to him, "I think I might need your help."

Looking into his eyes shining with compassion and adoration for her, she knew: somehow... someway... everything was going to be okay.

The End.


	23. RoRPart22EndChapterTwo

"When we met, I was sure out to lunch.  
Now my empty cup tastes as sweet as the punch;  
Sweet as the Punch!"  
–Along Comes Mary, Hooray for Boobies. The Bloodhound Gang

Reciprocity of Ratiocination.

Part 22, Ending 2: Totally Retconning this Mother! Josh Gets the Guy!

At last, the week had finally wound down to a close. The blood den was at that moment celebrating their grand reopening, and Aidan had some new prospective friends. A wholly new support system was in place, and the supernatural world in Boston was safe again, all thanks to Aidan.

The two best friends sat on the new couch, fully dressed, knowing this was the end of their affair together, and romance would turn back into bromance forever after. It was right. They were okay with this, but not until after one last night together. The two men held one another's eyes, relieved and happy.

While exchanging small, light kisses, the men made themselves more comfortable, Josh stretching out over Aidan as their kisses deepened, and hands began to roam more freely, covetous. Josh pulled back slightly, and Aidan stole the opportunity to kiss his way back Josh's jaw line to nuzzle his neck.

Josh smiled. "Compel me" he whispered.

Aidan stilled, his answer was small and confused. "What?"

Josh repeated his request, with a little more force, as if what he was asking for was obvious. "Compel me!"

Aidan pulled away so he could see his friend's face. The vampire looked amused, but slightly taken aback. "Compel you to do what?" He asked.

"You know..." Josh said with a small shake of his head and a shrug. "Compel me to move to your thoughts."

Aidan blinked, clearly stumped. "What do you mean?"

"Sync up with me... Share your will!"

Aidan scoffed, incredulous. "Vampires can't do that! What have you been reading lately?"

A confused hesitancy crossed Josh's face. "Aidan, you did it the first couple of times we were together."

"Whoa, whoa... whoa! Josh... I haven't compelled you since before the first time we had sex. We were in the cage, remember?" Josh climbed backwards so they could both sit up, looking at each other in disbelief. "Compelling isn't sharing, Josh, it's COMPELLING. It requires mental focus and at least eye contact!"

"No... No! No, Aidan, you've been controlling me. I can feel your energy when I'm with you, and you use that link to tell me what you want, what you need, and if I allow your energy to move me, then I don't have to think about anything, I just... go with your flow! It feels amazing, being with you like that."

Aidan stared open-mouthed at Josh, utterly clueless. Then, all at once, his eyes closed and he gasped. His chest and shoulders dropped slightly as he his eyes opened and found Josh, he looked stricken, and possibly a little bit sick. "Vampires can't do that, Josh," he repeated.

Aidan closed his eyes again. "What if we were wrong?" he asked, his voice low. "What if the very first assumption we made… was wrong? What if werewolves do mate for life?"

Josh's instinctive answer was no. But what did he know about werewolves? There was no compendium, no werewolf Yoda who knew all and could tell them. Maybe Josh's instinctive answer came not from an intrinsic knowledge of werewolves, but the fact that most of his life he had been alone. He never had a life filled with friends, and the one person he had expected to spend his life with, he cut off after being attacked by Ray. Maybe Josh simply couldn't imagine one person giving him that much of themselves to him freely. He couldn't imagine anyone loving him enough to choose him, for real and for good, through thick and thin, because no one ever had before. But maybe, and this was a sad thought, no one needed to choose him in order for him to choose them.

_Choose me_, Aidan had said.

_Nora... Isn't here._

And he had chosen.

Josh leaned back against the arm of the couch, holding up his head and covering his eyes with his hand while he tried to pin down the exact moment. Was a conscious choice from him, Josh, all the wolf needed? He thought back, bringing up in his mind a shiny metal cage, he and Aidan naked, Aidan's eyes holding his as the small movement of Aidan's thumbs rubbing the back of his hands sent goose bumps and delighted little shivers all over his body. But as strong as Josh made that image, his mind disregarded it and showed him another scene. A cage with smaller bars in a darker room, a different man in front of him, lighter eyes looking into his, "They call me the Professor..." Douglas' voice echoed in his head, "It's a dog fight, son."

The humiliation of having to strip naked and be lead shackled into the fighting ring by Marcus. And all the while, his eyes were seeking out Aidan; waiting for Aidan to save him. The pain of the transformation... a different view of Aidan, the point of view lower, and the colors looking more saturated and nuanced by the glaring florescent light: wolf memories. The vampire's voices were an annoying din to the wolf's sensitive ears; they were all just writhing faceless shadows to him, all but one still, quiet vampire. Only Aidan had a face, looking at the wolf with a tortured, guilty look. A surge of frustration went through the wolf, not only at the harsh lights and screaming creatures surrounding him, (I don't like this!) but also at the fence barring him from Aidan. The vampire felt familiar to the wolf, but that didn't automatically make him friend or foe, pack or prey. The familiarity prompted curiosity, it just wanted access to Aidan to investigate him. The wolf growled and backed away, it couldn't approach Aidan here. It wasn't safe. The door opened, and another wolf was in the doorway, a bigger, stronger, gray wolf, shaking his head like he was sick.

He heard Douglas in his mind: "You knew one of them. That must make things more complicated… for you." And, no... He couldn't let the other wolf be here, Aidan was here, Aidan was right behind him. Aidan had betrayed him, yes, the wolf knew that somehow, but the wolf KNEW Aidan. Josh's wolf circled the other carefully. The gray one was fighting for dominance, he was fighting for turf. But Josh's wolf had not been: It fought for the only thing in the room that it wanted. He had been... fighting for Aidan. Josh had won Aidan in a fight to the death. Aidan was his by right. When he was back to his conscious self, Josh hadn't wanted to think about the fact he had been forced to kill an intelligent, grandfatherly fellow to entertain some vacationing vampires. Josh thought the wolves had fought because they were supposed to. (It's a dog fight, son!) He simply hadn't realized there were deeper motives that needed to be examined. He had put it away and moved on.

Okay... Josh thought, that answers the when. But what about the connection? A different month, a different cage. That link had been there, right from the first time. Aidan had told him to follow his lead. Josh had, instinctively. Now that he looked back, Josh realized he had been more in his own head when he, Josh, had initiated and controlled their encounter. Otherwise, their encounters had been defined by Aidan's need and desires.

The reason why Josh always had felt so sure that he could break the link at any time was that he was controlling it, not Aidan. When a part of Josh was reaching into Aidan and finding the link, no... Let's be honest... hacking into Aidan on some level or another, and signaling that the link was at his disposal, he was misinterpreting it as a log on request from his friend. He had thought vampires were magical enough to do this on their own. Sometimes Josh gets so caught up in the downsides to being cursed that he forgets that he is a magical creature too, with a nature he is only beginning to understand. What better way to bond a pair than make it so you can have the best sex in the world, but only when your partner is willingly sharing themselves with you? Being able to meet your partner's every need, when they come to you? When he first had gone to Aidan's bed, at the time he did so because he had felt cheated out of an experience. What if it was deeper than that? What if Josh was instinctively trying not to cheat Aidan out of that link, that experience, treating Aidan as if Aidan were a werewolf who was bonded to him?

Alright... so if the wolf already had some connection to Aidan before their first time, and the link was on his side, what role did his programming play in all this? Aidan had told Josh that above all else, he wanted to make Josh relax, and feel good, along with a stronger emotional attachment. If there were already a subconscious, powerful emotional attachment to Aidan, it was possible that Aidan had inadvertently coupled the programming with the link.

He had told Nora 'It's more calming than anything.' Josh was planning to be a doctor one day... what did that mean? Oxytocin. A lot of it. A hormone also associated with pair bonding in humans. Add endorphins into the mix and it's no wonder Josh was whiting out after he climaxed when he was being entirely submissive to Aidan's needs and the link was at its strongest: orgasms naturally release both of those types of hormones into the brain, which means Josh is literally ODing on human hormones. And if overdosing on natural hormones was possible: take that reasoning one step further. That first time... what if he went into withdrawal after the overdose? What if the overdose and subsequent withdrawal affected his serotonin and dopamine levels enough to… maybe set up a psychological red herring that would send him out looking for the initial cause of the imbalance: like a bad dream and lingering notion he had to find Aidan? Just like an addict looking for a fix! But all Aidan had given him was a single kiss, not enough to overdose him by a long shot, but maybe it was just enough to kick him out of withdrawal, and allow his brain chemistry to restabilize. And having gone through it once had prepared his brain to restabilize on its own. It seemed more than plausible.

And Josh hadn't realized the reason everything was happening the way it was before, because he was purposely not thinking about it. He was told not to question, analyze, or deconstruct his feelings for Aidan for fear of a mental break.

If Aidan's plan hadn't worked, and he had woken up alone with Aidan's blood on his hands, he would have chalked up the imbalance to the guilt and grief he would no doubt already be experiencing, and considering how bad off he had been with Aidan still alive, his condition would have quickly become literally unbearable. He would have become increasingly frantic and self-destructed, most likely in less than a day. Aidan's death would have killed them both. Aidan had suggested Josh pining to death if Aidan were to die was a risk of trying to fool the wolf into thinking Aidan was its mate.

Holy shit! He really would have!

It was incredibly disturbing to think that the transformation into a werewolf and back did absolutely nothing to save him from a possibly fatal brain chemical imbalance. Then again, BECOMING a werewolf had sent him spiraling into a deep depression that BEING a werewolf didn't save him from, so he supposed it followed that he couldn't expect a mystical reprieve in this arena.

Did Aidan understand what he was doing, on a chemical level, when he programmed Josh? Nah... Aidan's plan that night had been very short term, and now here they were, banging their heads against supernatural rules no one ever clued them in to. The two of them had managed to create a biochemical post-it note, by rigging a biochemical time bomb. 'Don't fight your programming' he had been told, and Josh had not. Not one little bit. Which meant that every time he and Aidan were together... no, every time he followed Aidan's lead, sexually, not only did his were-mate uplink come in to play, which most likely came with an endorphin burst of its own, but his programming also kicked in, releasing a huge amount of Oxytocin and endorphins to make Josh calm and receptive: A werewolf double whammy.

Looking back over all their encounters, Josh realized he had only received instructions through the link when Aidan had needed him to behave in a very specific way. When the two of them were just fooling around, or going through one of the Werewolf Sexuality Awareness sessions, Aidan had only wanted him to be aroused and participate as an equal, and Josh happily went along with that directive. But Josh's active participation was interrupting Aidan's pattern assertion into the link, and introducing a pattern of his own. On some level, Aidan must have realized this correlation early on; that Josh was whiting out when he climaxed while under the vampire's control. After Josh's unresponsiveness had worried Aidan so much that time they were together in the storeroom, Aidan had been very careful to be sure to hand control back to Josh before Josh climaxed. Excepting of course the very last time they had been together, when Josh had passed out completely just a couple of moments after his orgasm. In the midst of all of this, Aidan had been working to protect Josh: He had been a good friend, a good lover, and a good mate.

Josh looked at Aidan. Aidan hadn't done it on purpose; He had only been trying to save their lives. Josh addressed his friend. "I think I won you in a dog fight."

Aidan looked stunned.

"The wolf fought Douglas over you."

Aidan considered this a moment, then nodded.

"I want to be deprogrammed, and no offense, not by you." Now that Boston was back together again, with a new family network in place, there were older and more experienced vampires close by who could lend a hand and deprogram Josh.

A small smile played on Aidan's lips as he nodded again. "None taken. I know the perfect person. I'll set it up tomorrow."

Josh gave a smile and nod of his own. But as for the rest of it… What's done is done. Josh leaned forward, took his friend's face in his hands and kissed his lips sweetly.

Aidan gathered him closer, kissed him deeper.

Vampires lived many lifetimes. There was no way his best friend would begrudge a werewolf... only one.

Epilogue.

December 25th.

Ithaca.

Josh woke up in his old childhood bed. He was spending the holidays with his family this year. After a two year absence, he figured he owed them at least a full Hanukkah. Like many modern Jewish families they did an additional gift exchange on December twenty-fifth. Their parents had understood how much media hype excited young children, and not wanting Josh and Emily to feel resentful that their Jewish faith had forever deprived them of the magical holiday mornings their Christian classmates raved about, adopted a sort of Christmas as an American Holiday Tradition.

On the nightstand was a digital video camera with a red bow sitting on top. Josh sighed. He might as well get this over with. Plucking the camera up and cradling it in his hands with the screen facing him, he turned the camera on, and pressed play.

The outside of his parent's home showed on the view screen. Aidan's voice narrated, "Hi Josh! I know you don't clearly remember what happens when you're transformed, and since I will be with you tonight, I thought it might be… educational… for you to see what it's like."

The scene jumped closer to the house, and Aidan's hand knocking on the front door. On the screen, Josh opened the door. Josh's eyes looked straight into the camera and he frowned. "Hey, Aidan. What's up with the camera?"

"Well, we are going out tonight to bond, and I thought, it would be even better if we both could remember what happened."

Josh watched himself pout on the little screen for a moment, remembering the worry that went through his mind… those '_what if the recording gets into the wrong hands_' thoughts, then thinking '_but it's our camera, so we can erase it and take care of it_' and then finally just giving up and giving the permission his friend needed to enter the home with a "Come on in, Aidan." As Aidan crossed the threshold, Josh turned and said, "Come to the table, we're having dinner." Josh led Aidan in to the dining room, and then disappeared for a moment to go to the kitchen.

The camera caught wobbly shots as Aidan was hugged by his mother and Emily before Aidan got a handshake from his dad. "Aidan!" Josh's father's voice was amiable. "What brings you out tonight?" The real Josh shook his head. He had already explained to his family what was going to happen and where he was going and with whom. His dad was trying to shrink them, trying to figure out if Josh was lying, or if it was a shared delusion between the two of them.

Aidan placed the camera on a side table, squaring the shot so it caught all of them. Josh reappeared with a glass of eggnog for Aidan. They all settled back around the dining table. "It's the full moon tonight. Josh and I are going to spend the night at the nature preserve."

Josh's father feigned surprised and interest. "Oh, really, are you going to be camping tonight? The preserve is closed to the public at this time of year, isn't it?

"Oh, we won't be camping, most likely we'll be hunting," Aidan answered smoothly. Josh watched his videotape counterpart stiffen. He doesn't really like to think about what's coming on his transformation days, aside from what preparations he needs to make, and he certainly doesn't like to discuss it in the upcoming hours.

His father's voice reflected a concerned disapproval. "If they catch the two of you out there with guns, you could be sent to prison!"

Aidan rushed in to assure him, "Oh, no-no-no… no guns, just our bare hands and a camera!" He gestured casually at the video camera with his thumb.

Josh watched himself shoot Aidan a funny look and mutter, "bear hands!"

The scene skipped ahead. In the video, Josh excused himself from the table to recheck his provisions for the night. In his absence, his parents exchanged a glance, and once again, Josh's father spoke up. "So, when Josh… transforms" just the way he said the word made it clear he was speaking hypothetically, "what… happens… to him?"

Three pairs of eyes fixed on Aidan. "It's an incredibly painful process, and one that is completely outside of the werewolf's control. Every bone in his body breaks and reforms. A wolf's heart is about two-thirds the size of a human's. But in order to shrink, first it has to stop. In other words, he has a heart attack. All the other internal organs are shrinking, too. So while he is having his heart attack, he is also having liver and kidney failure. There is a point where he stops screaming, and it's not because the pain has dulled, it's because his throat, gullet, and vocal cords are tearing and reforming: he literally can't make a sound. Normally by now, the pituitary gland would be working overtime, flooding his body with endorphins to lessen some of the pain, but that too has stopped. The transformation process from human to wolf prevents him from going into shock, or even passing out. It keeps him conscious through every second of it, feeling every moment of the pain."

The shocked, somber faces looking back at Aidan showed they were at least willing to consider this was something that was really happening. "As you can well imagine, the wolf never arrives as a happy camper. He is unfailingly, seriously angry. Fully transformed werewolves are ten times stronger than a human, and they are always more than willing to take it out on anything nearby, living or not... human or not." Aidan allowed a stretch of silence for this to sink in to the family. "As awful as the transformation process is, at the end of the night the werewolf has to go through it all again… only this time in reverse. But this time, as they go from a stronger form to a weaker form, near the end, they usually do pass out, which is why I am going with Josh tonight. It's very cold out there, and if he is left outside to sleep it off by himself, he could easily freeze to death."

Emily had a question. "Are you safe with him, out there?"

Aidan sighed, considering. He held Emily's eyes for a moment, and pursing his lips, shook his head. "No," he told her, "the wolf is wild, he can't be tamed. He knows me, but it's a touch-and-go proposition every time. He might let me near him, he might not. We make sure I am well away from him and safe when he transforms. If the wolf wants my company, he'll come to me. If he doesn't, he'll go off on his own. It's completely his choice."

Josh walked into the silence that followed this statement, the strap of his bag over his shoulder. Real Josh smiled as the Memorex Josh told Aidan "I think we should get going." Aidan protested it was a little early, but with a low voice and big doe eyes Josh assured him that it was the time to go, now, flawlessly pulling off the old I'm-a-werewolf-so-I-really-need-some-alone-time-with-Aidan gambit. Taking into context the conversation the vampire had been having with his family, in retrospect he felt kind of bad, but now better understood why his mother had jumped up and hugged him.

The next scene was the other reason he had forced the issue of leaving early; he didn't want to get delayed by his family's dallying. Not to be cheated out of a single day, they had insisted that Josh lead the observance and light the candles that night. There they all were, his fractured family, gathered around the Menorah. So many years of memories flooded Josh's mind as he watched himself with his parents and little sister, singing the blessings together in unison and harmony.

The scene jumped forward to the two of them in Josh's car, Aidan driving, the camera tucked into the driver's side corner of the dashboard capturing the both of them happily singing along with Taylor Swift's Love Story: "… he knelt to the ground and he pulled out a ring and said, marry me Juliet, you'll never have to be alone! I love you, and that's all I really know. I talked to your dad, go pick out a white dress, it's a love story, baby, just say: yes!" Watching, Josh couldn't help but laugh a little at the pure silliness of it.

Another edit cut brought them to pulling to a stop in the nature preserve. It was pitch black out, and the scenes were now in black and green because the camera was now recording in night vision mode. Both of them were scanning for signs of other people around, looking at the trees and snow. Aidan asked him distractedly "how much time do we have?"

In response, Josh turned to his friend with predatory eyes and a feral smile. "Enough!" And pounced, pressing a flurry of kisses to the vampire's lips. Josh kicked off his shoes and scooted himself into the back seat. "Come on!" Aidan smiled, and took off his jacket and shirt before climbing over the seats to join the werewolf in the back seat. The two of them were outside of the camera range; the camera was shooting towards the passenger seat.

His own voice, whining, "Hanukkah seemed much shorter when I was little... Being away from you like this; it feels less like Christmas and more like Lent!"

Aidan chuckled "When you were little, the holidays didn't mean giving up sex that's better than humans could have!"

In the video, Josh moaned his agreement, the sound of more kissing. In between kisses Josh was fervently whispering against Aidan's lips. "I need you inside of me, Aidan… so bad… please… I missed you so much… Now, Aidan! ... Now!"

The car on the tiny screen started a gently rocking motion immediately after that statement, despite the fact Josh distinctly remembered Aidan taking a moment or two to prepare him. Aidan had edited out that short span of time so he would look far more obedient in the video than he was in real life. What a funny guy! Despite the fact he was laughing, the real life Josh couldn't help but close his eyes and shake his head. What was it with them repeatedly ending up on camera? Ladies and gentleman, meet Josh, the world's most reticent serial porn star!

The camera's speakers began to issue a rhythmic growling sound, and Josh's eyes guiltily glanced at his bedroom door, hoping the video's soundtrack couldn't be heard outside the room.

He looked back at the screen just in time to see the two of them fly into frame as supernaturally hyped up Josh had pushed the vampire backwards and launched himself after him, so Josh was now on top without an interruption to their lovemaking. Josh winced, he hadn't realized at the time just how hard Aidan had hit the back of his head on the car frame. The force of the motion had even slightly moved the camera into a new position as it continued to record. Is that why Aidan had left this part in their little "bonding video", as a reminder to be more careful with his friend near the full moon? Or, despite a little bump, he left it in because he loved these times the two of them spent together?

Aidan quickly readjusted, shifting his position so Josh's thrusts didn't keep knocking his head into the window frame, and then his hands were back on Josh, caressing him, holding him close. The car was rocking much harder now as Josh took control, growling like something wild, desperately clinging to Aidan as he rode him, his own cock trapped between them, burrowing in the teasingly soft, scant hair on Aidan's abdomen. Aidan's moans and whispers of the werewolf's name intermingled with Josh's growls, and as they reached their crescendo, Josh's vocalizations dropped away, and he instead chanted his partner's name through his orgasm, his movements becoming still and he held his lover close. Their lips met in a deep kiss and Josh pulled Aidan down sideways on top of him, lying back out of frame. A warm, small smile touched the present Josh's lips as he decided Aidan probably wasn't at all mad about that little bump on the head.

The next scene they were dressed, and walking through the woods. "So how are things going with your family?" Aidan asked

"Well, on one hand, it's weird to be around people so… normal. The biggest demons they wrestle with are impulse buys and extra glasses of wine. They have no idea how lucky they are not to have this huge, all-encompassing THING they can't escape to obsess them." The Josh in the video turned towards the cameraman. "On the other hand, it feels like a big, fat lie. We're all pretending I'm not a werewolf. It just gives me this…" he struggled a moment, looking for the right words, "underlying sense of futility. We are all tiptoeing around the elephant in the living room, pa, pa ... play… playing make believe that it's just us there, that we're having this intimate little family holiday. If we're all just pretending, what's the point?"

Aidan's voice drifted into frame from behind the camera. "Josh, your family loves you. They care about you. They're worried about you. You've made it clear that they cannot be involved with that aspect of your life, and that leaves them unsure how to support you. So they are doing the only thing they can, they are spending time with you, their son, and brother. They know the elephant is there, and they know it's a member of the family, now, too. They just don't know how to deal with it yet. Not one of you knows how to fit it into your family portrait." Aidan had framed Josh in a close-up shot; his eyes were bright with sadness and frustration, and a little resignation. "They don't want to lose you again." The man in the video looked away, and giving a little nod, unhooked his necklace and held it out for Aidan.

Aidan had edited out the whole getting undressed process and skipped ahead. Josh was naked and shivering, both of his hands shielding his genitalia. "Man, it's cold out here!" He exclaimed through gritted teeth. "Aidan, it's coming. Get up in the tree!" When Aidan didn't move, Josh had barked "GO!" his arm twitched as if he had stopped himself from pointing. Almost immediately, the man in the video screamed and doubled over, and the scene once again jumped ahead.

According to the time index, roughly an hour had passed. It took a moment for the present Josh to make sense of what was displayed on the tiny screen. A green and black mess sorted itself into branches on the video as the camera lens zoomed in towards the ground. For a second, there seemed to be movement down there, but it could be a trick of the eyes and the imagination. There was a flash of full eye shine for a second or two as the wolf's attention was caught by the camera light. A thin, weary sounding howl drifted up into the frozen branches of the tree in which Aidan was perched, followed by another in an entirely different pitch, eloquent in its sadness. "See how you are, Josh? Get up in the tree, I'm dangerous! Come down, I'm lonely!" Another howl levitated in the air, an insistent tone this time. "Alright!" Aidan called down. "I'm coming down!"

The screen went dark for a moment as Aidan tucked the camera securely into his clothes and made his way down. He pulled the camera back out on a much lower branch, perhaps 15 feet from the ground. After focusing on the wolf, looking up expectantly, he dropped to the ground, staying low, and turned the camera on himself. The wolf was upon him quickly, greeting him with a couple of small licks to the face and brushing his head against Aidan's.

"Hey buddy!" Aidan said to the wolf, rubbing the top of his head along the wolf's neck. He reached out one hand and ran it down the wolf's flank. "Miss me?"

The wolf whined in response, turning to sit leaning against Aidan. The wolf was calmly scanning the woods now, ever alert.

Aidan whispered Josh's name to get the wolf's attention. The wolf looked at him. "It's freezing out here, and I am STARVING! Let's hunt." Aidan broke eye contact with the wolf, looking expectantly into the woods so this next move wouldn't be interpreted as a direct challenge: he let his eyes turn black and his fangs come out. "Hunt!"

Josh gasped, his mouth falling open. Yet, even in his shock, he tried to give Aidan the benefit of the doubt that this was just an activity to keep them busy throughout the night; he really wanted to believe that this was not Aidan teaching the wolf to kill on his command.

The wolf seemed to understand, tensing up and investigating their surroundings with his eyes and nose, looking for sign. He must have caught a trail, because the little wolf dashed away into the woods. Aidan followed him, the camerawork shaky as the vampire ran: the both of them moving faster than any human could. The wolf stopped short, the cameraman dropping into a crouch right behind him as the wolf sniffed the ground. They proceeded slowly, the wolf's nose leading them. Aidan quietly whispered directly into the camera's microphone, "there has been people through here very recently, and a deer. I'm hoping he is following the deer, and not trying to track the people."

The wolf's head snapped up, body tense and locked in stillness. "Oh!" Aidan's voice sounding excited even as he talked under his breath, "he's found the deer!" The wolf crept forward, silently stalking its prey for a few steps, then a flurry of activity as it made its attack, the growling and crashing sounding brutal as it brought down the deer. Aidan brought up the rear, the night vision light coming upon a fully antlered buck being held down at the neck by Josh's wolf. The stag's legs kicked in a feeble attempt to stand, but the wolf held fast. "Nice!" Aidan told the wolf. Teeth still locked on the buck, the wolf looked up at Aidan.

The scene jumped ahead, the buck was dead, and partially eviscerated. Yeah… Josh could definitely have lived without seeing that. The wolf was prancing around the area, his tail wagging. "You know Josh," Aidan's tone was conversational; "your wolf is pretty smart. He knows I'm a vampire. He kept it alive with a suffocation hold to let me drink from it, before ripping its throat out to kill it quickly." (Josh's stomach rolled queasily.) "I took some still shots, and he knows what the camera is, too! I swear he was posing!" The camera was tracking the wolf, its muzzle dark with blood as it walked up to Aidan. "What?" Aidan asked the wolf. The wolf sniffed the camera, leaving a small smear on the lens before losing interest. Aidan moved the camera off to the side, now capturing them both. Aidan was topless; he must have removed his shirt and jacket so he didn't get blood on them as they shared the kill. The wolf sniffed at Aidan's chest, the deer blood on his neck and chin, then at his crotch. Aidan addressed the wolf again. "What is it, Josh? Hmmm? What do you want?" The wolf gripped the fabric of Aidan's pants near the button, and tugged. The sound of small rips being made in the fabric as the wolf did his work. "No-no-no! Not the pants! Not the pants!" Aidan exclaimed. The scene jumped ahead, the camera beside Aidan, filming from ground level and Aidan was clearly in the middle of a laughing fit, lying flat on his back while the wolf crouched low over him, licking the deer's blood from his throat. "You are one kinky puppy!" Aidan laughed, and Josh realized there was definitely a thrusting motion going on. Well, that answers that question… Josh wasn't the only one who got lucky with Aidan last night! The wolf stretched forward to get at the blood on Aidan's jaw, and collapsed on top of him, still thrusting and licking. The vampire arched his back and panted "ooooh! Good boy!" Still laughing: "Good boy!" Aidan made a halfhearted grab for the camera, distracted by the wolf, then the second time managed to find the stop button, and cut the video.

Josh sighed and shook his head. Werewolf porn, he thought, fan-tas-tic.

The next scene came up on the screen, and Aidan had found a tree with a clearer view of the ground. The wolf was pacing back and forth, its body dark against the snow, licking its lips and whining anxiously. It stopped and tensed for a moment, then resumed its pacing, stopping and tensing up again with a yowling groan. Its body constricted tighter with a frightened, guttural vocalization. It was happening, Josh realized. The wolf was on his way out. Morning was coming. A spasm went through the creature in the snow, and it jerked and seized, its forelegs locking stiffly in front of it, while its back legs hunched. It looked like it was trying to hang on to the ground while the world spun out of control. Poor little thing, it looked so small in the snow. It was screaming now, there was no other word for it, a blood curdling and raw sound. Then the wolf went abruptly silent and fell over onto its side, the body writhing as it changed from wolf to human. One final yelp came from him, sounding very different, sounding more human than animal, before it fell silent, unconscious; the transformation completing itself. Josh saw himself lying on his side, naked in the snow. "Alright…" Aidan's voice was slow with compassion, "let's get you back to the car."

The next scene was a series of cuts; the camera must have come with some sort of montage function. Aidan cleaned and redressed him in the backseat of the car. Josh could hear the heater in the background, running on the highest setting. Aidan had just finished buckling Josh, now fully dressed to protect him from the cold, in to the front seat when his head snapped up, and he muttered "uh-oh!"

In the early morning twilight, the camera filmed Aidan approaching a police car from the roof of their car. "Good morning officers!" Like a rock skipping over the water, the video condensed Aidan's story to the police.

"We were at a party last night with some friends…"

"I was the designated driver…"

"Driving my roommate to see his family on Christmas…"

"He's still passed out…"

"I just got really tired, thought I should pull over for a while…"

"Thought it would be safer to get off the road a ways…"

Laughing: "I was pretty sure I wasn't gonna get car jacked by Bambi! Ya know?"

Contrite: "No… the front gate wasn't closed. I just drove right in…"

"I'm not from around here, I had no idea…"

"Of course if the gates had been locked, I wouldn't have come in, I was just looking for a safe place to crash for a couple of hours…"

"Hey, thanks man, I really appreciate it…"

Aidan exchanged handshakes with the officers. "Alright! Thanks again, and have a great Christmas!"

One last shot of Aidan standing alone in front of the camera, exhaling in relief.

The scene changed, the camera was filming from the hood of the car, and this time they were back in front of his parent's home. Aidan was gathering him up to pull him out of the car when Josh sluggishly roused.

"We're back. Do you want me to carry you up?" Aidan asked.

With assistance, Josh slowly stood up and heavily leaned back against the car. "No, I can walk up." Josh replied on video, his voice low with fatigue. "Just give me a minute."

Aidan shut the passenger door and took Josh into his arms. Josh laid his cheek on Aidan's shoulder while Aidan rubbed his back. They stood that way for a few moments, holding each other as a soft snow fell from a lightening sky. Josh raised his head and looked into Aidan's eyes for a few seconds before bringing their lips together for a deep, languid kiss: Two supernaturals, a werewolf and his consort sharing a magical moment in the snow. Josh remembered that at the time, he had simply felt it was a good opportunity to get a kiss with his friend, but observing it from the outside, there was a frank earnestness to the kiss, and it seemed that every moment they had been there for one another, and came through for one another was present in that kiss. The connection, the love between them was palpable. It was utterly heartbreaking in its beauty.

The kiss came to an end and they rested their foreheads together. Aidan asked him, "Are you ready?" Josh pulled away, gazing once again into his lover's eyes. He nodded. They turned, Aidan grabbing the camera and filming the walk up to the house. The energy Josh had gathered while leaning against the car failed him before the trip to the door was completed, and they slowed their pace. They took the icy stairs carefully, and once they were inside, tackled the indoor flight of stairs straight away.

Josh had rallied a bit by the time they reached the second floor. "I think I'll sleep better if I take a quick shower."

The camera turned a 1 80 from filming the trip upstairs to the journeyers themselves. Aidan asked him, "Are you sure? You look about ready to fall over." On the screen, Josh nodded sleepily. "Alright, lead the way."

Josh shook his head. "No. If you go in with me, then I won't have to concentrate on doing things for myself, and I'll fall asleep. It's not the falling asleep part that is the problem; if I go to bed dirty I'll wake up feeling restless and tired. This holiday means a lot to my family, and starting the day like that is not a good way to make up for being gone for the last two years." Aidan nodded. "There's a computer in the study. You can work on your little project while I am gone."

Aidan nodded again, and gave him a soft smile. "Deal," he said, and gave Josh a little kiss on the lips.

The scene shifted to the study, Aidan lit up mostly by the computer screen as leaden winter morning light filtered through the windows. The soft whir of the printer was recognizable through the tiny speaker of the camera. Aidan grabbed whatever the printer had made for him, and blowing on it lightly, placed it gingerly on the table. He looked around briefly, located a pen, and wrote something down on the paper. He ran a fingertip over the surface lightly, checking to see that the ink had set before turning it over and writing on the back.

Emily walked into frame, holding a cup of coffee. "Hey," her greeting to Aidan sounding casual as she passed behind him and sat off to the side, facing him.

"Hey," Aidan volleyed, sending her some eye contact and a smile.

Emily ran her hand over the top of her head, fingers raking back her hair. "How'd it go last night? Did everything go okay?"

"Yeah," Aidan told her, "everything went fine."

She cradled her coffee mug, holding her arms close to her body. "So he's back to normal now, for another month?"

"Four weeks, yeah. That's generally how it works." He gave her a small, companionable chuckle.

Emily took a sip of her coffee, and nodded slowly as she was digesting this information. Then she affixed Aidan with a look, cunning in her eyes. "So, you're… what? Dry humping Romeo in the stairwell 10 feet from Juliet's door?"

This startled a real laugh from Aidan. "Okay," he said slowly. "For the record, I liked Nora! I was encouraging Josh to... pursue her! So…" he waved his hand in the air, dismissing the idea, pen still in his hand, "no to your little… stairwell scenario!"

"Then help me to understand this," Emily prompted him, "because last time I was in Boston, there was nothing going on between the two of you, and now there definitely is, and this isn't the kind of thing I ever imagined my big brother doing."

"Alright," Aidan responded thoughtfully. "If you need a metaphor, how about this one: While on the run from a vicious killer who didn't care which one of us he wacked, we both woke up to find ourselves in Las Vegas, naked, lying in bed next to our long time platonic best friend, wearing matching wedding bands… finding a marriage license taped to the bedroom mirror; and having absolutely no idea of how we got there. After the requisite FREAK OUT, we had a long talk, and we came to realize that the situation could have advantages… Advantages so big, that we just couldn't walk away."

Emily's appraising gaze dropped to Aidan's left hand. Aidan gave a little exasperated exhale. "It was a METAPHOR, Emily!"

Emily shot him a penetrating look, waiting.

For a second Aidan seemed to sort through his thoughts, struggling for words. When he found them, his voice was gentle. "Look. I wasn't your brother's choice." Aidan picked up the page he had printed out and written on, flipping it over and handing it to Emily. "I was HIS."

She looked taken aback and dismayed; she put down her coffee cup to hold the paper with both hands. Her eyebrows furrowed, creasing her forehead, and her eyes narrowed as they darted around the paper, trying to make sense of what she was seeing.

Although the screen that Josh was using to watch the video was only five inches across, he nonetheless felt like he was in the room with them, helpless to stop what was happening.

"The Great Hunter Bears a Buck," Emily read aloud. Checking the back of the paper, she read: "Josh. December 25th," and finished the inscription by reading out the current year. She searched the front of the page again, her eyes catching and widening, her face smoothing as she gasped in shock. "What is that?" She demanded in a breathy voice.

"That," Aidan's voice was still gentle, but he sounded a little excited,(I guess it's not every day you get to tell your best friend's family that he isn't the nut job they thought he was, and introduce them to the supernatural world to boot) "is a transformed werewolf. That is what your brother turns into every lunar month."

She looked frightened. For a couple of seconds, Josh was sure she was going to cry. She pulled herself together quickly, though, reeling herself in; as if remembering the more shock she showed, the more she made it clear she thought her brother was either crazy, or had been lying to them.

A small note of incredulity crept into Aidan's voice. "Emily... after everything your brother gave up when it happened... his career, his marriage, all of you... did you really think it was so he could just..." Aidan screwed up his face, "take off his clothes and... pretend?"

Emily looked up at Aidan, shook her head slightly as she drew a quick breath to speak, but nothing came out. She exchanged the picture for the coffee mug and clutched it to her.

Aidan said, "Your brother didn't leave because he THOUGHT he was a werewolf; he left because he KNEW he was."

Emily's eyes were sad. "I love my brother. But you have to admit, with our family history, it was far more likely that it was a bear attack, and he snapped. I wanted to believe him! I just didn't know what to think."

Aidan nodded. "Well, here's what you should know: He loves you, too. And more than anything in the world, he is terrified of hurting you. That wolf, it doesn't care that you're Josh's family. To the wolf, you are prey. You're slower. You're weaker. You're vulnerable. It will never be safe for you to be anywhere near him when he transforms; any of you. And you can support him by keeping yourself safe from him when he changes. Your brother would never forgive himself if anyone he cared about got infected or killed because of him, so don't let the story end that way. For your own safety, you can never be involved in that aspect of his life. But know that it's okay to talk about it with him. It's okay to ask him questions. That goes for your parents, too." Aidan glanced through the doorway. "Speaking of your parents, I'm surprised they're not awake yet."

Emily raked her hair again, looked into her coffee cup. "After what you said at dinner last night, I think they had a hard time getting to sleep." Emily continued to stare hard into her mug for a few more seconds, and then looked up at Aidan. "So how is it that you're able to be near him when he changes?"

Aidan took a slow, deep breath, exhaling audibly as he considered his answer. "What is happening between your brother and I… is extraordinary. We were put into a situation that in order to survive, we had to form a connection between the two of us. And now that connection is too... unique, too special for us to walk away from. And things this… miraculous, they don't happen by accident. This is fate. This is kismet. And even though we don't know what it is, we know there is a reason behind it. We are meant to do something, learn something, teach something, or be something. And until we do it, learn it, teach it, be it, or whatever it is that we are meant to do with this… we're gonna stick it out, together."

Josh touched the little video screen, his heart melting. They had never discussed it, but he felt it too, that there was an important reason behind their relationship. Aidan had summed it up quite nicely.

Aidan gave a grudging, self-deprecating little smile. "Maybe in the grand multi-verse, all possibilities must exist in some form or another, and we are the lucky versions of us who get to be this possibility for a while. We just don't know what the future holds. But I can tell you this: whether it's 6 more minutes or 60 years, so long as they choose me," Aidan indicated the picture of the wolf, "I'm all theirs."

Josh smirked and thought wryly: Multi-verse? Yep! Aidan's definitely been sleeping with a geek!

Emily sat quietly gazing at the picture, absorbing everything Aidan had said.

Aidan stood up. "It's been good seeing you again, Emily, but I need to check on your brother, and head out. I have a couple errands to run on the way back to Boston."

Emily also rose. "I'm gonna grab a smoke and go back to bed. I think this is dad's decaf."

"Oh, and Emily, Josh's really exhausted, and he'll get up on his own when he's ready. So let him sleep, okay?

Emily agreed. She wished Aidan a safe trip, and exited.

The next shot was a title card of sorts, with Josh's name and the current date. Then the paper on which the camera was zoomed flipped over with an audible click, and there was a picture of a dead deer. The camera zoomed out a little, encompassing the entire picture; and on the bottom, in the same handwriting as on the back, read the inscription: The Great Hunter Bears a Buck. Seeing the photo, Josh could see why Emily had reacted as she had. The photo was taken with a night vision green light, and at first, all you saw was the buck. But if you ran your eyes over the top of the carcass, you would see a paw resting atop the dead animal. Follow the paw, and the wolf, almost completely blended with the background shrub, would become evident. It was crouching down a little, and snarling at the camera as if protecting his kill from the photographer. Josh remembered what Aidan said about the wolf posing for the shot. There was an apron of blood fanned out around the deer, but the wolf hadn't torn it apart yet, only killed it, so the wolf had already let Aidan have his share of the kill. (And he still had getting Aidan out of his pants to look forward to.)

The camera zoomed out a little more, to show the photo was affixed to his mother's kitchen refrigerator.

Josh gave a little gasp. This footage was shot hours ago. His parents would surely be up by now, would have seen it by now. A small, angry, vindictive corner of his mind played out a little fantasy that at the moment his dad saw the wolf in the picture, Josh could have magically appeared, looking calm and collected, leaning casually against the side of the refrigerator, his eyes a dead match to the wolf's. "Tell me dad," Josh would say, "what do YOU THINK is going on right now?"

Josh shook his head at his own thoughts as the view screen moved to the final scene. It had to be: this was shot in Josh's bedroom, from the very spot Josh had picked up the camera. Josh was in bed, his face turned towards the camera, eyes closed, and breathing deep, measured breaths. Fast asleep.

Aidan walked around the bed, into the shot, and lay down next to Josh on his side, looking at Josh's slumbering form. "You know," Aidan said in a quiet voice, so his talking would not wake up his friend, "there are things in this room you have not touched since you were turned. They still carry your human scent. That's a strange thing, because to me the wolf has always been such a big part of who you were, the wolf is… why we met." Aidan closed his eyes, pressing a chaste kiss to Josh's temple and lingering there, seeming to be taking in Josh's scent. The sleeper didn't rouse. "When you add up all the things that had to happen to bring us both here at this time and place together as we are, the odds against it are astronomical." The vampire sighed. "PLEASE don't let us screw this up!" He closed his eyes for a moment, and when they opened, they were completely black. Slowly, predatorily, he moved over Josh's sleeping body, straddling him with his darkened gaze locked to Josh's face.

The sleeping man's lips stretched into a smile as his head turned, eyes opening to look directly into Aidan's, who quickly blinked away the darkness. Watching the video, Josh couldn't help but be impressed. Aidan had used the link to wake him up.

Aidan smiled back at him. "Hey" he said lightly.

Josh answered a sleepy "hey."

"I'm gonna head out," Aidan told him.

Underneath the vampire, Josh gave a little moan of negation, arching his back, his body sort of making a rolling undulation, whispering the word "Stay." Josh never thought of himself as sensual, but even he had to admit, when he was with Aidan, he certainly could be.

Sensual or not, the older man wasn't swayed by it. "Can't," he answered. "The mortuary I am going to is run out of a family home, and they are taking time from their Christmas morning to release that girl's body to me. They are expecting me, and she has to be in Boston bright and early tomorrow morning for her funeral. You," he said pointedly, "are supposed to be enjoying some one on one time with your family, not entertaining me." The sleepy man offered up an answering petulant grunt. "Go back to sleep, Josh." In the video, Josh's eyes grew heavy, but he resisted the command, and stretched his chin forward for a kiss. Aidan obliged him, kissing him deeply for a long moment, before again whispering to him the suggestion to go back to sleep.

Josh murmured "I love you so much, Aidan," and then his head rolled slowly to the side, now asleep. Aidan looked at the camera and whispered, "Love you, too. Sweet dreams, buddy," before reaching up and turning the camera off.

That was the end of the video.

Josh closed the video screen and sat, thinking over what he has seen. So much to think about there! What had Aidan been trying to show him, first and foremost? Well, first, there had been a lot about the two of them, and the role Aidan had come to play in his life in the last few months. Josh had taken care of Aidan when Aidan had needed it, in just the way Aidan had needed it. And here they were, a couple of months later, and Aidan was taking care of Josh, in just the way Josh needed it.

It had seemed dangerous to Josh at the time, sleeping with a vampire, and on an intellectual level he knew it still was, but Aidan had always been so careful with him. It was just as dangerous, well, no… far more dangerous, that Aidan was with Josh's wolf. It certainly wasn't something they were planning to do indefinitely, just one more month or two, just to be sure the wolf couldn't be used against Aidan the way Bishop had tried to use him. Josh hadn't known a lot about the things those two got up to when he, Josh, was gone. He and Aidan were going to have to have a talk about that hunting excursion! But one wrong move on Aidan's part, one misunderstood intention, and the wolf could turn on Aidan faster than Aidan could mount a defense. It was too dangerous.

It was funny in a way, that after two years of celibacy, just when Josh began to build up hopes about having a relationship with a woman, this happens, and he ends up with a man. He did not see this coming. It would have been easier to walk away, he supposed, but as dangerous as they were to one another, he felt safe with Aidan. When Josh realized the link was on his side, it seemed like a golden opportunity to find out more about his own nature, and miracle of miracles, Aidan was up for it.

Werewolves were not wolves. Wolves are pack animals; they don't fight to the death: they fight for their place in the pack hierarchy. Vampires pit werewolves against each other because they will rip each other to shreds every time. Although regular wolves can mate for life, they are practical animals: they are survivors. If a wolf's mate is lost, they find another. Josh has no doubt he is likely capable of forming a connection with another mate, but there has been a unique chain of events that brought him to trust Aidan on a deep, instinctual level. Being a cautious and cynical type of person, that level of trust is what Josh isn't so sure he can achieve with anyone else. He could go the rest of his life without ever knowing this connection again. This may be his only chance to explore what it's like to have it. The only way to find out if he can do this with anyone else was to let Aidan go, and he just couldn't bring himself to do that right now. Besides, the sex was great, and the two of them went out of their way to make it fun for each other. There was no hurry.

Now that they were together, there was a pervasive feeling in their relationship that they were living in a state of grace. More than likely, it wasn't going to last forever. They were under the impression they would know when it was time to move on, no regrets. But what if they never got the urge to move on? Josh explored the possibility in his mind briefly, imagining himself in about forty years, out at a restaurant with Aidan, and a beautiful young waitress mistaking Aidan for his son, or grandson. Her eyes would linger on Aidan, and skate over him without the slightest interest. "It's so sweet of your son to make time for you!" She would say in a too-loud yet syrupy, slightly condescending tone as if Josh were both deaf and dotty. Josh couldn't help but laugh as he imagined waiting for the waitress to walk away, then turning to Aidan and saying with a wink, "Do you have a kiss for daddy, sonny boy?"

Josh felt ready for anything that was coming between him and Aidan. The wonderful thing was that their relationship was working out to Aidan's favor, too. Josh was giving Aidan quite the reputation! All the vampires in the Boston family were aware that Aidan was involved with a werewolf. It was a fact that made them leery of Aidan; made him more of an outsider. It made the others a little more afraid of Aidan, and a little less likely to trouble him over trivial events. If there was a disagreement between the co-leaders of the family, Aidan would come in, arbitrate, make the deciding vote and be on his own way again. He could hear whispers in the hall speculating how large of a wolf pack Aidan had at his disposal, and how Aidan could set his pack to attack over the slightest rudeness. He had even heard a couple of youngsters call him "mad dog" under their breath! Aidan took it in stride, though; kept his sense of humor about it. Right now, Aidan was exactly where he wanted to be with his family: participating, but not burdened or controlled. He was finally free.

Which brings Josh to his family. It surprised him that with Aidan, they wanted to talk about the wolf. They carefully avoided the subject with him. Aidan was right; they really didn't know how to approach it. And right there on the refrigerator, Aidan had left them proof of Josh's Condition. Josh realized it was time to admit to himself that he had been hiding behind his family's confusion and disbelief. Oh, Josh still resented them for their reticence to believe him, and blamed them, to be sure, but he HAD been benefiting from it. As long as they had doubts, they were caught up in the question of whether or not Josh was, or was not, a werewolf. With his family's doubts dispelled, they would have other questions as they tried to grasp the bigger picture. Like questions about his failed relationship with Nora, his continued lack of a medical career, and questions about his roommate-turned-apparent-boyfriend. If Josh is a werewolf, then, Aidan, what are you? That was pretty much what Emily had been asking Aidan, and he had deflected the question, instead talking about how unusual their situation was. The stark reality of the fact he was sleeping with a serial killer tightened around his chest. He wondered how much gas was left in his car, and how long he could drive before having to pull over and refuel.

He heaved a sigh, covering his face. He couldn't keep running away from his family. Aidan had done what he did to clear the air between him and his relatives. He should take it as the gift it was, but he needed to manage it. He just wasn't ready to answer any questions about Aidan or his relationship with Aidan. Aidan was going to be off limits. He would ask his parents and sister to please go easy on him, and confine their questions to those dealing with his condition. One thing at a time, please!

Josh's eyes took in the bedroom as a whole, the wood paneling so familiar. It seemed like a container, filled with all of his life up until this moment and the possibilities beyond. This room was a silent sentinel that had watched him through all the changes in his life; it was imprinted and imbued with his energy. In this room he grew up. In this room he had been human, and dreamed human dreams of a career as a doctor, being a husband... being a father. If he went looking for it, would he still be able to find the scent of Julia's perfume on the pillows of his window seat? He supposed he should tell his family about Nora, about losing the baby. If he and Aidan were going to be together for a while, he wanted his parents to know it wasn't Aidan stopping him from giving them grandkids. He didn't doubt his colorful and talented sister would fall in love and get married one day. The grandkids would have to be up to Emily and her wife, if they decided they wanted children.

Right now, his family was downstairs, waiting for him to join them. He loved them all, and he wanted them to be in his big picture, so long as they were safe. As he swung his legs off of the bed and got ready to stand up, he noticed a gift that Aidan had left just for him on the nightstand. There was a small pile of foil covered chocolate coins heaped on top of a couple of pictures. Josh smiled. He slid the pictures out from under the gelt. There were two photos; printed out downstairs this morning, no doubt.

In the first, Aidan was fully dressed, wearing his customary dark jeans and leather jacket, crouching on the ground about three feet away from the wolf. They were looking at each other, the wolf's face stretched towards Aidan's with a gentle curiosity. Josh was clever enough to know that Aidan had probably accomplished this shot by using a breath mint. It was a great shot, though. It was detailed and very sweet. He liked it.

The second photo was much more intimate. Aidan was naked, kneeling in the snow, his head was bowed and his eyes were closed while he and the wolf leaned against one another, curled into each other for warmth. Josh felt his eyes sting with tears as he took in the couple: An odd couple, but a mated pair. Two monsters against the world, here, finding something more special than any human could ever know.

At this moment, Josh felt not cursed, but blessed. He had THIS. And downstairs, his family waited for him, ready to receive him, support him, understand him… love him. He felt an all-encompassing gratitude for all the people in his life, and this opportunity to put things right with his family. They may have their problems, but there was love there… A second chance…

And he was thankful.

The End.


	24. RoRVeryLastWord

"Put down for missed notes, put up with misquotes.  
Don't want the whole story? Should have bought the Cliff Notes."  
- The Inevitable Return of The Great White Dope,  
Hooray for Boobies. Bloodhound Gang

Author's Note: Holy crap, I'm still talking! I clearly don't know when to quit!

Hope you all enjoyed the story. I became obsessed with the show sometime in season one, and started this story a little before the last episode aired. I wouldn't have thought it would take me over a year and nearly until the beginning of season three to finish the story. I found I have a very sporadic and chaotic writing style. My original plan for the story was to stay as cannon as possible, and return to cannon at the end. But when I decided to stick with the idea of an extra full moon between the fight with Douglas and Bishop's death, (the progression of Nora's pregnancy excludes this possibility) and understanding that if I were going to write a well-rounded story, I would have to make some wild guesses about the direction of the show for season two, I had to go Alternate Universe. And when it hit me that the events of the story would work even better if the ending were completely reversed, I couldn't resist writing both outcomes. The very first chapter I finished was the alternate ending. As far as posting it, it was always an all-or-nothing proposition. I didn't want to post the first couple of chapters and leave people hanging, like so many authors have done before me.

I had decided before the ending of season 1 that I was going to make Julia a med student with Josh. When Julia showed up as a resident doctor in season two, I was majorly kicking myself for not finishing the story and posting it. I would have looked like a fricking genius! Another round of kicking myself began when Suren mentioned Julia's unique perfume. I had written that line about Julia's perfume in my story a full year before! The second chapter I finished was the chapter where Aidan pulls Josh into the storage room to butter him up to go to the Blood Den with him. I had Aidan drinking more blood, not a little right before, to combat blood cravings during sex. So seeing some permutations of my ideas coming up in the show was thrilling in a way, because I was right, and irritating, because no one would know it. (This story was posted the day before season 3 premiered. Had I known they would have a character named Kat in season 3 on the show, I would have used another name!)

When season two started I resolved to not let new information taint my original story idea, but I admit it did. Watching season two saved me from making Julia blond. I knew how the house was fixed up, and Danny's criminal charges. Sally's use of Janet, and the ensuing public debate as to whether Sally's crime was theft or rape made me clarify why Sally would be so willing to unleash some wrath on Aidan if she found out he had forced Josh in to mating. Originally, I was going to make werewolves as edible to vampires as humans, which seemed too fanciful after watching season two. Seeing Aidan and Bishop together made casting them as a pair a no-brainer, but seeing Aidan with Henry had me coming up with the whole idea of initiation sex training. (Which tacked on a few more chapters… and months… to my writing time!) And, of course, both Aidan and Josh's speculative last names (McCollin and Radcliff) were changed and cemented in cannon as different names altogether in season 2.

My research in to Danny's charges brought up a lot of conflicting information. I was quite satisfied with the first "Murder in the Third" definition I could find, and immediately wrote it in to the story, but while double checking what Murder in the Third Degree meant in Massachusetts specifically, things got confusing. One website listed Murder One as a premeditated crime, Murder Two meant they were charged as an accomplice, and Murder Three as a catch all for everything else. Another website listed only Murder One and Two, and then either Voluntary or Involuntary Manslaughter. I decided to stick with my original definition, because it muddied the legal waters to the point that the life insurance company most likely wouldn't pursue Danny to return Sally's life insurance payout, especially after he sold the house at a huge loss.(At least in my version of the story!) So please don't hold me to this as to what Danny's exact legal culpability had been in Sally's death. At Comicon 2012 the head producer of the show, Anna Fricke, talked about how Nora will be living with Josh in season 3 because the rent on the apartment would have been too high for Josh to handle on his own. She loved the idea that Aidan was an old, bad ass vampire who had no fortune, bad credit, and lived on a nurse's salary. So I know it wasn't the show's intention have the characters be a little more well off financially. But I was such a huge fan of Suze Orman, and the book The Wealthy Barber by David Chilton, that I wanted to depict responsible financial planning.

I think they made a mistake in season 2 by having a blood den that was filled with donors who were just curious, peer pressured, dared to be there, or self-destructive. Making a blood den that was open to the general public would make the existence of vampires an open secret, and an open secret is a secret from no one. It would have been the soft open of the coming out that Bishop wanted. I imagined the donors in Bishop's Blood Den would be under a contract with a gag order, living this fantasy lifestyle incommunicado, and forming a like-minded family with the other donors: living a very sensual existence in a maze of dazzling decors, eating a basically healthy diet with the occasional gourmet surprise as a treat, and enjoying the option to bathe privately or participate in visually stimulating group showers as being some of the perks of the job. Also, I would guess the donors were required to be celibate, not only because sex changes a woman's PH balance, and therefore her scent, but so the act of donating would be the most sexually charged physical contact they had while they lived at the Blood Den.

My favorite lines?

When Josh realized he is in Aidan's car the morning after his transformation, he thinks it's Bishop RUBBING HIS NOSE in the fact that Aidan is dead. Yes folks, the pooch puns just never get old!

My absolute favorite line in the whole story is from the alternate ending: "It seemed more than plausible." Because what comes before that line is absolute BS!

Aidan's explanation to Josh's family of what physically happens to Josh while he is turning into a wolf is taken nearly verbatim from Mitchell's voiceover of George's transformation in Being Human UK. There are a lot of UK influences in my story.

The title of chapter three was taken from Jethro Tull's song _Thick As A Brick_. Fun fact: _Thick as a Brick_ was once used as the background music in an Irish Spring commercial. (Buy our soap, dummy!)

Once upon a time I was listening to an interview on the radio, and someone asked a gay man how he could stand to be dominated by another man by bottoming. He replied that he didn't think of sex as one of them dominating the other by topping, but rather sex was something they were doing together, equally. Toby Whithouse modeled his vampires after sex addicts, so I figure Aidan is well over any such hang-ups over bottoming. But with a preference to vary positions, and awareness that deep down, Josh was fostering this attitude towards bottoming and so was keeping score, I had them taking turns with Aidan being slightly more generous in bed. In my original ending, Josh goes back to girls, and keeps this bias. In my alternate ending, in which Josh is deprogrammed and fully opens himself to a relationship with Aidan, he too drops this attitude, and simply asks for what he wants. I have Josh sleeping with his head on Aidan's arm instead of the other way around because without a heartbeat to cause circulation, Aidan's arm isn't going to go numb the way Josh's would if Aidan's head was laying on it for hours. Logic overcomes dumb pride. =)

One of the reasons I decided to write this story was the admiration I have for Stephen King, and the bravery he shows in his writing, the Dark Tower Series in particular. I can't help but wonder in the back of my mind if the things he actually puts to paper and sends out in to the world with his name on it earns him some strange looks in church and at community potlucks. Here I have the benefit of anonymity, and I can put out there all the twisted things I think about, but am not brave enough to share attached to my own name. Not that I believe that anyone would give a care, I'm just not brave enough to be willing to be judged and defined by my innermost weirdness. (My outermost weirdness, though… hey, have at it!)

Before writing this story, I had never seen a coital tie used in fan fiction. In the year since writing that scene, I have seen it employed regularly in Grimm (ascribed mainly to Monroe as a voluntary talent) and even saw one in the Supernatural section. I had vacillated back and forth whether or not to force a tie on poor old Aidan, but hey, go big or go home! This was an exercise in bravery for me! I've also never seen nonpenitrative between-the-legs outercourse between two men, not even in pornos. I hope it's because that position wouldn't show well on camera, not because it wouldn't work in real life. (Fingers crossed!) I tried not to fall into those old fairy tale fan fiction pitfalls, (most feelings are warm and fuzzy, semen is yummy, and the antagonists are secretly bursting with love for each other) but be as honest as I knew how to be. Interpersonal situations are always complicated, with thoughts pulling you towards the other person at the same time as other thoughts and doubts are pulling you apart.

Which brings me to warnings. There were a lot of things I included in my story I did not warn people about beforehand, but should I have? I don't feel that every single sexual position and toy needs to be disclosed before the story. I have seen entries in warning sections that could double as a tag cloud or even as a spoiler section for the story you are about to read, such as...

Tired of being treated as a lesser doctor, Jessie decided to have it out with Travis Reid, Warning: Bottom!Reid, orgasm denial, pearl necklace.

Yeah, you pretty much know how that story is gonna end! But many warnings I have seen I felt were unnecessary. I don't feel a warning about vibrator use is warranted. Aborted attempts at anal sex? No siree Bob, not in my house! Good thing I was warned! We may was well put up... Warning: Winking, side looks, brief mention of fingernails!

There was a beta who listed no knotting (coital tie) fics, but listing my coital tie as a warning would have spoiled the conflict in chapter two. So I opted to keep it quiet. But if you're planning an emotionally crushing rape, or a traumatic major character death by murder or suicide, yes, please warn me! As much as I love hypothetical romantic dalliances, I still need something to cry over when I am PMSing!

Please remember, this was my first story. And it was a long one that took me nearly two years to write! I knew that including so much internal dialog would mean that the flow of the story would be almost nonexistent. It also means it's an interesting story the first time you read it, but feels slow on subsequent visits. Sorry! So if you stuck with the story alllllll the way to the end, good for you! If you enjoyed it, I am glad. If my story motivated you to try something new and fun in bed, I am super thrilled. If it bored, angered, or offended you deeply, and you cannot wait to flame me with every epithet in your arsenal, I sincerely apologize. Please be placated with the fact it took me a lot longer to write it than it took you to read it, and I'll never get that time back, either! ;)

Long days and pleasant nights,

_Pining for Porn_. ^i^

"I'm kinda like Hans Solo,  
Always stroking my own Wookie,  
I'm the root of all that's evil,  
Yeah, but you can call me cookie."  
Fire, Water, Burn - Bloodhound Gang

**Comments and reviews are welcome and appreciated! Thank you for reading!**


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